MONDAY AFTERNOON POOJA at Dam Site - February 4

If you have never attended or observed the Hindu ritual of pooja (prayer ceremony) you have missed one of the most beautiful and deeply meaningful experiences - summoning God (or many of the Hindu gods) to be present at the ceremony and to shower blessings on the particular event - a marriage, a birthday, or a project such as ours - the construction of a catchment dam which will benefit directly or indirectly between 11,000 and 15,000 villagers within a 10 kilometer distance from the dam location.
We were welcomed by Dinesh Sharma and others with whom we would be working for the next few days, and inside a colorful reception tent, we saw the place where the havan (fire) would be placed. The priest (pandit) from neighboring village was there to lead us in prayer.  



It is difficult to explain fully and adequately the emotions and the pageantry of this ceremony, and I am not sure if I can actually upload a link to videos, but I will try.  Each of our team members was given the blessing of a tika on our foreheads, as well as raksha bhandan (red threads tied around our wrists - both signs of blessings). We then listened to the pandit as he chanted mantras (prayers) as he performed various tasks- sprinkling holy water over the havan platform, as well as seeds, grains, and ghee, to ignite the fire and keep it going.  






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