Worshipping the God of Wisdom

He is the favourite deity of Indians who worship Shri Ganesh, the elephant headed son of Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati with a mixture of devotion and affection. Loved by all, young and old, Lord Ganesh, is fondly called by more than 108 names, describing His distinct qualities and the uttering of which is believed to result in eternal bliss for mankind. As this deity makes an entry a day prior to the festival, men, women and children get ecstatic and shout slogans, welcoming this God of Wisdom into their homes for a short stay. It is here that the Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayak Chaturthi festival truly begins, spreading the spirit of joy for the next couple of days.
In Goa, and other parts of India, the festival is celebrated for a minimum day-and-a-half to five, seven, 11 or 21 days. For Usha Shirodkar, a retired teacher from Margao, ‘chavath' (Chaturthi) is one of the most awaited festivals, as her entire kith and kin gathers in her little home. The ‘modak' (a sweet with coconut and jaggery mixture inside rice or wheat crust) is said to be the favourite of Ganapati and hence the Shirodkars make them for ‘naivaidya' (offering to God) along with other snacks like ‘shankarpale', ‘laadoo', ‘nevri', ‘chakli', ‘chivda, shev', ‘fenoryo' for home consumption as well as sale.
"It is Ganapati Bappa who bestows good luck on Earth. Everything in life is a gift from Him. For years irrespective of our economic status, our family fondly serves Him in the best possible way," smiles Usha, 62. This is a special time of the year when all negative emotions like anger, enmity, hatred or jealousy among various family members dissolve, allowing the survival of only deep devotion towards this giver of everything.
"My family visits our ancestral home in Savai-Verem during Chaturthi and this is a routine ritual every year," admits Suresh Naik, who works in Panaji. For his city grown kids, visiting the village home is a bonanza.
This ten-day festival beginning on the fourth day of Bhadrapada (month in Hindu calendar) is marked with the installation of clay idols of Ganesh in homes and public places. The chanting of vedic hymns, stotras and aartis (prayers) offered twice a day, and the distribution of ‘prasad' is a daily ritual as long as the idol remains installed. The tenth day marks the end of the festival when the idol is carried in a procession to a nearby river or ocean and immersed. The clay dissolves in the water, symbolising the return of the son to his home, Kailasa in the Himalayas.
With faith dominating the minds of people since ancient times, they revere Lord Ganesh as the God of good beginnings, giver of prosperity and remover of obstacle. It is a common practice, that before beginning any ‘shubh karya', prayers are offered to Lord Ganesh. "Important tasks are incomplete without the blessings of Lord Ganesh. It was a boon to him by his father, Lord Shiv, the God of Universe, that Lord Ganesh will be worshipped before commencing any task by the mortals," states a temple pujari. This explains the reason why all marriage invitation cards compulsorily have the image of Lord Ganesh. The Indian mythology website has aptly chosen the story of birth of Ganesh as the first story on their site.
The credit of public celebration of Ganesh Utsav goes to freedom fighter and social reformer Bal Gangadhar Tilak who initiated the tradition in Pune in 1893, as an effort of uniting the people. Prior to this, the celebration was limited to private households.
With time, commercialisation seeped in the festivity, creating a big market. In Goa the seasonal fruits and flowers are hung in front of the idol as offerings to the lord. This market registers a turnover in few lakh rupees and is a good source of income for the village vendors. The sweet shops witness a rush throughout the festival.
There is a lot of exchange of goods too as various competitions are organised by Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals along with lottery draws offering cars, motorbikes and electronic items as prizes. Also plays, dances, stage shows and orchestras are performed for public entertainment. Many of these mandals display interesting scenes and presentations for public awareness and entertainment.
Irrespective of whether one is a believer or an atheist, all in the family participate wholeheartedly in celebrating Bappa's home visit. "In our ancestral home at Borim, each of the family members compulsorily attends the celebrations, even if he or she lives outside of Goa. It's the one time when the family gets together, apart from family functions like marriages," explains Vandana Borkar of Borkar Nursing Home, Margao. It is in the rural Goa that the festival manifests in its traditional avatar, with ghumot aarti groups singing ‘bhajans' and ‘kirtans' twice a day with much fervour. These are followed by delicious lunch and dinners served to all who are present. "No invitations are sent and friends and neighbours walk in uninvited to participate in the aartis at the very sound of dhol, tashe, kasale, taal, mrudang, pakhavaj and ghumot," shares Anil Zambaulikar whose entire family gets together.
Fire crackers are burst especially on the last day of the festival when Bappa takes leave on the Anant Chaturdashi day. The hosts exhibit mixed feelings while yelling out, "Parvatichya Nandana, Morya Gajanana, Gajvadana." As they bid goodbye to their beloved guest their voices choke and eyes well up.
"Though we know that Bappa will arrive next year, and year after year, it still pains us to bid him farewell. This parting may be temporary but the bond has been established forever. Until his next physical arrival in earthly appearance, Bappa shall dwell in our hearts," says Uddhav Panandikar, as he stands supporting the idol just before immersing it into the pond after Bappa's brief stay at his home. As the words "Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudhachya Varshi Laukar Yaa..." vibrate in the air asking the deity to visit early next year, three swings and the clay bodied Bappa finally immerses to rest in another of the ‘panchamahabhootas' - the water element.