Universally popular in office and home,
Your form embodies the mystic Aum!

Charming atop your murine vehicle,
You remove hurdle and obstacle!

Protector of the orphan - dhayAkaranE!
Leader of leaders O’ VinAyakanE!

Grief and sorrow you perceive and detect,
With your wisdom and sharp intellect.

Any task or ceremony that we do embark
Your name we invoke O’ celestial monarch!

A friendly god much hailed and sought,
Of Riddhi and Siddhi you are consort!

But how your tusk you came to forsake,
Tell us EkadanthA.. O' how did it break?

Did you lose it while transcribing VyasA’s verse?
Or hurling it at the moon whom you did curse?

Shall we be blessed today with luck,
As we prepare your special mOdhak?

Yes, Lord of solutions to problems logical,
Our destroyer of sorrow and obstacle!

O’ Lord who a garland of snakes does wear,
To your son we humbly prostrate in prayer.

o let’s sing of his glory- GLORY-GLORIA!
Our dearest GaNapathi BappA mOriyA!

Rajeshwari Iyer lives in Brampton, Ontario and teaches Chemistry at the College/University level in Toronto. She is the mother of a special needs child and enjoys reading, music and travel. She has contributed poems to SAWF (South Asian Women's Forum), Magazines such as KALA, Marina, quarterly publications based in Toronto. She has also contributed to e-zines such as Poetry.com, Thinnai, and Tamilonline.