Ganesh Chaturthi

September 5th, 2011

Every year there is a Hindu festival held in celebration of the god Ganesh. The date varies from year to year as it starts on the fourth day of the waxing moon period and lasts for ten days. In the previous months, many clay models of Ganesh are sculpted and many homes proudly display them in their living rooms with it surrounded by colourful lights and flowers during the celebration time. At the end of the festival, the idols are paraded through the streets accompanied by dancing and singing followers and then it is tossed into a river or the sea. It symbolizes Ganesh journeying off to his home in Kailash while taking the misfortunes of his devotees with him.

There are many deities in Hinduism but Ganesh is up there in importance. He’s easily recognizable as he sports an elephant head. He is the son of two other big league gods, Shiva and Parvati. Shiva, meaning the “auspicious one”, is known as the destroyer god or transformer while Parvati is the supreme Divine Mother...sounds like some interesting parents! One story as to how Ganesh got his pachyderm cranium is that he was born with a human head but then Shiva beheaded him (“Thanks Dad!”) for getting between Shiva and Parvati and replaced it with an elephant one so that he wouldn’t be so alluring. Interesting family...

This year September 5th was the day when Ganesh would go swimming. On Arambol Beach, local families and friends began gather together on the beach in front of a small table with their Ganesh idols in the early evening. I wandered down there with an English gentleman, another Dave, who has been around Arambol for the past few months.

The idols were set up in a neat row, all facing away from the sea and back towards the temple. Some were lit up by old school camping torches while others had electric light powered by large batteries that were carried in. They varied in size slightly and Dave mentioned that the higher caste, wealthier families of the local community would have the larger statues. People sat down in front of the icons, lighting incense, sparklers while others walked the length of the display, sprinkling flower petals over the Ganeshes.

The Ganesh line-up:

Looking down the line:


Kids lighting incense and sparklers:

As we walked up and down the line inspecting the idols, I kept a wary eye on the various amateur fireworks being lit behind us at a rather close distance. A couple of times a malfunctioning bottle rocket would fly indiscriminately towards the crowd...I did shield my eyes on more than one occasion. I enjoyed the Roman candles spurting into the air and there was an impressive firecracker run that lasted a couple of minutes which surely didn’t do any favours to any one’s eardrums.

Fireworks:

The fireworks:


Singing broke out with a circle of men and boys chanting away as a couple of them beat on bongos. Dave and I waited around a while, hoping the procession of the Ganesh idols into the sea would soon happen but my empty stomach was letting itself be known. Dave told me that there would be people of lower castes charged with walking the statues out into the ocean but with the tide being way out and no moon present there wasn’t going to be much to see so we opted to head back to the regular monsoon season restaurant, 21 Coconuts, for dinner.

The next day I walked down to that same area on the beach, unfortunately knowing what to expect but I wanted to see it myself...what a clutter of trash! Incense boxes, fireworks debris, trampled flower garlands...yikes. I guess religion can be messy...

The ensuing mess:


Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!