A sacrifice that paid

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We were returning from work as usual in the evening.

Shruthi stopped by a roadside vendor and bought a pair of  small fresh looking  banana plants.To celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi the next day. The sight and smell of it brought back different memories.
Of people hurrying home, bags full of goodies for wife and children.Coconuts, plantains, jaggery and pulses that would turn out into mouth watering dishes. Idols of Ganesha (Vinayakar to some and Pillayar to others) that would be pampered happily for a day and then immersed into some water body. Sometimes dead fish would be found floating the next day if the paint used on the idol was not eco-friendly but not everybody bothered about that.

But the lingering memory of this festival is of the year I was preparing for a
competitive exam. In my middle age, when the days of young expectation were over  and had given way to a sort of resignation of my fate.
Somehow, friends had inspired me and made me ambitious all over again.
 Foregoing ordinary get-togethers and fun. I had to travel quite a distance to attend a coaching class.
A Ganesh Chaturthi came in between and I could see people in their hustle and bustle preparing to celebrate.Dressed in bright silks and flowers, lining up before temples.Earlier, children in a holiday mood went swimming and diving.                                                               free digital photos.net

 To my then focussed mind, I almost felt jealous of them. Both adults and children. It looked as if only I wasn't free to enjoy.                                                                                                                      
Then came the exams and after writing them I knew I'd get through. It sure changed my life and  now as I look back I know that the struggle was worth it after all.