09.16.07 - Ganesh Chaturthi

This was a really auspicious time for me to arrive. Ganesh, the elephant headed god, is the first god to whom the Hindi pray, always. Vishnu so decreed. He is the remover of obstacles and the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. He is invoked at the beginning of things, and to have his birthday come along as I’m starting my adventure in India is very auspicious.

We had a puja, or prayer ceremony to Ganesh, at the jobsite as we moved in. A new beginning. Incense and offerings of fruit, and such. The company also outfitted some new space in Mumbai, and we just had a puja there as well. No giant idols, but sweets and cakes. There was just a little image of Ganesh, but an elaborate door hanging made from FLOWERS.

So this is the once a year that Ganesh comes to celebrate his birthday. They do it in a big way in Mumbai. 15 days. There are ganapati put up all over the place. These are basically temporary temples. Some are made of tarps and sticks, some have elaborate entries and bridges and facades, almost all have an arch on the street announcing the presence of the gunpati.
In each are a couple of Ganesh idols. Usually one of them is HUGE! Something like 8’. There’s a smaller one nearer to the worshippers where you can leave offerings. He apparently likes coconuts and bananas. Loads of flowers and a money box for donations. The paper reported a ‘miracle’ when a couple of youths tried to break into the donation box, but Ganesh kept them from succeeding.

After you say your prayer the person tending the shrine will give you something sweet. A piece of fruit or some sugar candy, or maybe something with honey and gee or curd (yogurt).

At the end of 5, or 9, or 15 days, they take the idols, submerge them in water and let them disintegrate. I went to Chowpatti Beach on the Arabian Sea last week, and they were already setting up for this. People have been bringing their idols from home all week. The papers say that something like 1300 of them have already been submerged.

They also put them in Powaii Lake which is very close to the office. So on the trip back to the hotel in the evening we will here drums and music and come upon a dozen people dancing in the street as they take the idol toward the lake. A couple of times they’ve been covered in dye or paint, once red, once blue, as if the whole procession walked through a sprinkler at the Sherwin-Williams factory.

They string lights around the lean-tos. Some of them are elaborate displays with programmed patterns, some are simple, usually there’s an allee of lights to lead you from the arch to the lean-to. The arches on the street are made of bamboo lashed together and then covered with ink-jet printed vinyl. Usually the vinyl has some politician’s faces on them, Mrs. Ghandi is usually included. The ones on main streets may be sponsored by a local company or even a large corporation, which comes up with little graphics for the event.

The politicians and the corporations obviously donate money for the idol and the paraphernalia. Most of the rest of it comes from the neighbors and the members of the pandals, little group formed for pulling off the event. This means that the really fancy ones are in the classier parts of the city.

But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t incredible little treasures tucked away in little corners.

I found a fantastic plaster arch along one of the roads inside the bandra (the road that separates Mumbai from the suburbs).

I walked through the arch and found myself in a normal little slum. Two storey attached buildings. The height of the two storeys is probably not 20’. No sidewalk, dirt road, goats, dogs, etc. The arches of lights ran quite a way toward the temple. There were a few off shoot alleys. The temple was quite large and contained not only a Ganesh, but a Krishna head, Krishna’s parents, and a Vishnu.

The temple folk seem honored if I take a picture of their idol, I make sure to show them the picture on the back of my camera (I’m REALLY glad it has a big screen) and the weave their head in pleasure.

I was quite confused how such a seemingly poor community could afford such a flashy set up. On my way out I saw the large sign showing the three sleek glass towers that the developer wants to put up on the site, and it all became clear to me. It was after I left that I saw the developer’s name on the arch! Duh.

I was escorted out by a pack of children. The children get really excited about picture taking. They love to have their photos taken and will pose and pose and scream and laugh. It draws huge crowds of them.

At night from my hotel I can see some of the lights and hear the music and fireworks from the celebration. I keep meaning to stay out after dark and see some of them in the night, but exhaustion catches up.

Mukesh at the office belongs to a local volunteer group who helps with the crowd control at the Chowpatti. He has invited me to join him. Now this will be participant observation!