Ganesha Chathurthi Celebrations

Today Hindus living in America celebrated the festival of Ganesha Chathurthi. We performed simple worship at home with offerings of Modaks, fruits, and flowers. Then we proceeded to the Plano Ganesha temple where hundreds of Hindus were participating in the ceremonial worship of Lord.
Later in the afternoon we visited Taj Mahal Imports which in my opinion is the largest Indian store in the metroplex. The store had an array of Ganesha idols for sale which were being eagerly bought by devotees of the Lord of Wisdom.
Evening we participated in the exuberant celebrations at the University of Texas at Dallas. A group of Hindu students from India had got together and staged the festival in a simple but very devout fashion. I particularly liked the initiative of few students who had compiled a collection of songs in Marathi, Sanskrit and Hindu in praise of Lord Ganesha. Hymns in praise of Ganesha rent the air around the apartments and it was great to be part of this celebrations. This is a small saving grace for my life in the US.
Of course it is not necessary to mention that during these occasions the pain of separation from India, parents and family and the community with which I would celebrate the occasion, gets heightened. I guess it will continue to be there as long as I am here.