Navaratri Second Day

The second day of Navaratri belongs to Goddess Brahmacharini. Brahmacharini is clad in a white sari and hold a rosary in her hand. She is the Goddess of meditation, knowledge and education in all fields. Japa and tapa are what She always does. She is a Brahmacharini, a bachelor. She is also called Gayatri.

With the name Gayatri, I just remembered something. I was born in New Delhi. My maternal grandfather was a great spiritualist. The seers from Udupi main temple, like Adamar Matha, Pechavar Matha and Bandarkar Matha and also Bheemankatte Swamiji, would come to my granddad’s home. My granddad had installed a hand pump with rubber washer especially for their use. This he had done with the government’s permission.

Grand poojas would to be conducted at his home. During such an occasion, they had performed Ketara Gauri Pooja. When I was born, granddad gave me the name Ketara Gauri. But people began to call me Katherine, which is a Christian name. Today, I think that it was fine, because I believe in Lord Jesus as well and celebrate Christmas in a grand manner.

But, my grandparents were not happy with it. They would call me by a pet name, which I won’t reveal here. 🙂

A few days later, a male journalist – the son of my grandmother’s female friend – by the name of Ranganathan, who was a brave investigative journalist bold enough to write the bare truth, suggested the name Gayatri for me. Just recently, the sacred thread changing ceremony, Gayatri Japa and Gayatri Hawana had been conducted in my granddad’s house. Thus, he said that this name was the suitable name for me.

Mom wanted to become a full-fledged journalist. However, Dad did not allow Mom to go out for any job. Thus, she would write from home as a freelancer. By God’s grace, both her daughters are senior journalists writing very good articles. I am thankful to Ranganathan Uncle and Gayatri Mata for this.