The last few days of my trip, I had the pleasure to experience the festival of Ganpati. The festival runs for 11 days and during it, it's believed that Ganesh is present on earth. Ganesh is known as the god for wisdom, prosperity, good fortune and travel--so it was particularly relevant for me as I'm on the way home.
Leading up to it, I had noticed the idols being made. Traditionally, they were made from mud, more recently from plaster of paris, but now the eco-movement has them being made of mud again. They are truly gorgeous and it's almost a shame that they end up getting immersed in the sea. The artistry is something else. They are ordered to specification on colour, etc and then picked up before the festival begins. Size wise they range from small to enormous. I had a vendor decorating them at the bottom of my street and wandered by. It takes true artistry to decorate these.
I was invited by my friends to take part in the celebration at their house. On Wednesday night, we picked the Ganesh up. Ours was very pretty. His head is covered until he's brought home and the house decorated. The following morning, he is uncovered and people spend the day visiting each other and paying homage to the Ganesh in peoples homes. Aside from seeing how lovely the other statues were, one of the neatest bits for me was that if you touch the Ganesh, you must be barefoot. We left our shoes in the car when we picked him up and I got to walk barefoot in the streets of Bombay. It's kind of cool to be able to say that.
After work on Thursday, I made my over through the traffic to spend the evening. When transporting the Ganesh, anywhere, people bang on drums, ring bells, set off fireworks, sing, dance and just generally make a lot of noise. It's a very joyous celebration and it went on well into the night.
When I arrived, one first visits Ganesh. That's ours, above. You gift him with a sprinkling of rice, marigold petals and red powder (the kind that goes on the forehead)--all with the right hand--tough to remember for a die hard lefty like me. Then I touched him and made wish and was given a sweet. In some ways, it feels sort of like Christmas, without the presents. It has that same feeling for me, anyway. It has its own music, people get together to chat, eat and spend time with each other. It just felt really good and I was so happy that I got to be a part of it.
Friday afternoon, it was time to submerge him. When you get the Ganesh, you commit to keeping him a certain amount of time. This one was submerged after 1 1/2 days. That's the minimum and I suspect it might have been for my benefit so that I could be part of it.
We went to the beach and again, barefoot, made our way to the water. This Ganesh was eco-friendly mud version and is quite heavy. There are young men there who will help you carry the statue down to the water. It was early and "not busy yet", but there were probably several hundred people at the beach. I could have spent hours there, just watching. Each Ganesh is unique--and have I mentioned how pretty they are?
Once incense was lit and prayers done, it was time to submerge him. The young man who helped us carry him to the beach, also put him in the water. It was quite windy and there is a bad undertow at the beach. I "accidentally" ended up being a little too close and got wet up to the knees and could really feel the suction. Yes, I got a soaker in the Indian Ocean. It's too bad it's so polluted. There are miles of beautiful beaches that can't be used. The previous night, there was talk about how people used to be able to go swimming in them 20 or so years ago. It's quite sad. The water is just a murky beigey-colour and very unappealing.
Below are some pictures and video of the Ganesh being submerged. It's a bit jiggly for a few seconds at the beginning, so please bear with me. Scorsese, I am not.
I was invited by my friends to take part in the celebration at their house. On Wednesday night, we picked the Ganesh up. Ours was very pretty. His head is covered until he's brought home and the house decorated. The following morning, he is uncovered and people spend the day visiting each other and paying homage to the Ganesh in peoples homes. Aside from seeing how lovely the other statues were, one of the neatest bits for me was that if you touch the Ganesh, you must be barefoot. We left our shoes in the car when we picked him up and I got to walk barefoot in the streets of Bombay. It's kind of cool to be able to say that.
After work on Thursday, I made my over through the traffic to spend the evening. When transporting the Ganesh, anywhere, people bang on drums, ring bells, set off fireworks, sing, dance and just generally make a lot of noise. It's a very joyous celebration and it went on well into the night.
When I arrived, one first visits Ganesh. That's ours, above. You gift him with a sprinkling of rice, marigold petals and red powder (the kind that goes on the forehead)--all with the right hand--tough to remember for a die hard lefty like me. Then I touched him and made wish and was given a sweet. In some ways, it feels sort of like Christmas, without the presents. It has that same feeling for me, anyway. It has its own music, people get together to chat, eat and spend time with each other. It just felt really good and I was so happy that I got to be a part of it.
Friday afternoon, it was time to submerge him. When you get the Ganesh, you commit to keeping him a certain amount of time. This one was submerged after 1 1/2 days. That's the minimum and I suspect it might have been for my benefit so that I could be part of it.
We went to the beach and again, barefoot, made our way to the water. This Ganesh was eco-friendly mud version and is quite heavy. There are young men there who will help you carry the statue down to the water. It was early and "not busy yet", but there were probably several hundred people at the beach. I could have spent hours there, just watching. Each Ganesh is unique--and have I mentioned how pretty they are?
Once incense was lit and prayers done, it was time to submerge him. The young man who helped us carry him to the beach, also put him in the water. It was quite windy and there is a bad undertow at the beach. I "accidentally" ended up being a little too close and got wet up to the knees and could really feel the suction. Yes, I got a soaker in the Indian Ocean. It's too bad it's so polluted. There are miles of beautiful beaches that can't be used. The previous night, there was talk about how people used to be able to go swimming in them 20 or so years ago. It's quite sad. The water is just a murky beigey-colour and very unappealing.
Below are some pictures and video of the Ganesh being submerged. It's a bit jiggly for a few seconds at the beginning, so please bear with me. Scorsese, I am not.
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