Greystones Does Ganesh

Pratishka & friends celebrate Ganesha SEPT22

t’s a major festival on the Indian calendar, lighting up many corners of the world right about now.

And Greystones is no different, as the birth of Hindu god Ganesha is marked with gatherings for prayer, worship and some fine food all over town.

Having started on August 31st, the 10-day festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha’s clay murtis in homes and temporary shrines knowns as pandals, whilst the celebrations include chanting of Verdic hymns and Hindu texts. The festival ends with the idol being carried in a public procession with music and group chanting before being immersed in a nearby body of water.

So, might be interesting to see how BJ Marine deal with that one.

To mark the occasion, we asked Pratishka Kamat to give us some background…

Even though they are miles away from their homes, a few local residents living in Greystones are celebrating Ganesh festival in their home. It is not as extravagant as it was in India, but they try to honor it in small ways.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day Indian festival celebrated in late August and September. This day commemorates the birth of Lord Ganesha, an elephant-headed god. It’s celebrated in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Goa.

Shraddha Lade, a Greystones resident, has been keeping Ganpati for the past three years. She recollects her childhood memories about festival

“Throughout my childhood, my father would take us to various friends’ and family members’ homes to celebrate Ganpati,” she says. “I enjoyed the music and decorations, as well as the memories of eating a lot of modaks [special sweets made for this occasion].”

Payal and Pawan welcoming Ganpati

There are numerous versions of Ganesha’s birth, but the most common is Lord Shiva beheading a boy created by Parvati out of dirt from her body. When Parvati learned about this, she became outraged; Shiva, in turn, promised to bring Ganesha’s life back. The devas (other gods) were sent to find a child’s head facing north, but all they found was an elephant’s head. Ganesha was born when Shiva fixed the elephant’s head to the child’s body. He is the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati.

The Festival has an interesting history of bringing together freedom fighters during British rule. The Sepoy Mutiny, also known as the Indian Rebellion, took place in 1857.

Aditi and Ankur’s pandal

This was the First War of Independence in India that threatened British rule. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one the rebellion leaders who realized that nothing could unite Indians more than a festival. In 1893, he hosted a social gathering for Ganpati celebrations known as the Pandal system. They distributed secret messages for the fight for freedom during this gathering. Since the British banned public social and political gatherings, the festival has grown in significance.

Ganesha is prominently known as the remover of obstacles, the god of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. Because of this, many Hindus worship him before any major endeavor they undertake – be it business, marriage, childbirth, etc. More importantly, however, he also removes obstacles on the soul’s spiritual journey and, is therefore, prayed to by aspiring transcendentalists all over the world.

Having recently moved into the neighbourhood, Aditi Bidwai Tripathi started her journey with Ganpati’s blessing. She explains, “Shri Ganesha is highly regarded as the God of New Beginnings in Hinduism. We recently purchased our first home in Greystones and plan to grow our family here. So this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi is quite special for us, and we are looking forward to celebrating it with our new community.’

The 10-day festival concludes with Visarjan, the ceremony of submerging Lord Ganesha’s idol in an ocean, sea, or bucket of water. Visarjan symbolizes nothing is permanent and that change is the only constant. With the passage of time and increased global awareness about the importance of eco-friendly festival celebrations, this fits Greystones well.

This is a community very concerned about environmental issues, after all, and so I began buying eco-friendly Ganesha idols made of clay, natural fibers, paper, and other biodegradable materials. When immersed in water, these idols degrade faster and do not harm the environment. I use the entire clay after Visarjan to pot in new plants.

As the plant grows, it always makes me happy and reminds me of Ganpati festival time.