Adored and worshipped, Ganesa is cherished as the God of New beginnings, God of wisdom and God of Auspiciousness. He is the resident deity for Maharashtra, Mumbai Metropolis to be specific and His birthday is one good reason for mega celebration.
He is the God of Invocation, propitiated first in music and dance programmes, is the lucky charm on greeting and marriage cards, on vehicles and at the entrance of many homes. All you need are a few strokes and His charismatic form emerges.
Royal patronage under Chhatrapati Shivaji, who celebrated our culture and nationalism, was revived by social reformers during the Freedom Struggle. Lokmanya Tilak transformed the celebration to “Sarvajanik Mahotsav,” to crusade against the British rule. Alongside Gandhi, Ganpati had a role in the movement. The tradition continues with many Ganpati mandals parading social messages through thematic tableaus and film flicks.
Tours of popular mandals, culminating in the immersion at Chowpatty beach, are organised by Maharashtra Tourism and private operators. Lalbaug cha Raja is much sought after venue, a proof of the deity’s powers to answer prayers. Small idols on a simple plank to huge statues on trucks, the crowd watches patiently from vantage points as the cavalcade moves on the immersion day.
Bands playing the dhol
Fine Arts Society Chembur will celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with religious rituals, Homam, Aarti in the morning of September 13, follow it up with musical presentation by students of FAS Academy in the evening.
The next evening, ‘Ganesha in our Music and Mythology,’ a thematic presentation by Shravanam is scheduled at the RCF auditorium. “Music and story-telling in your backyard,” is the tag line of Shravanam, founded by Subramanian Chidambaram, Sidhi Krishnamoorthy and Kanchana Manyam, three musicians from Mumbai. Being a Veda scholar and well-versed in Sanskrit and Tamil, Subramanian does the researching, while Sidhi and Kanchana will explore Ganesha’s attribute through Carnatic vocal medium.
Music and story
“We take a deity, explore mythology and present related kritis,” adds Kanchana. Different themes suited to the audience and occasion, are presented through an impressive story line, mixed with soulful music. Satish Seshadri will accompany them on the violin and Aniruddha will be on mridangam support.
Public place becomes rehearsal hall
Vasant Oscar Society in Mulund is well known and appreciated for its periodical community celebrations of important religious and national festivities. This year for Ganapati they will conduct singing and dancing competition for all age groups and drawing competition for younger children. An amateur in house orchestra will regale the members. Besides the Satsang and Satyanarayana puja, the highlight of the Ganpati puja will be Weaves of India, a mega thematic event involving 150 residents of all age groups. It has been conceptualised by Preeti Shetty, Professor at Swami Vivekanand College and resident of Vasant Oscar.
“India is divided broadly into five zones. North, East, South, West and Central. To depict the same in dance format, each zone will be represented by a principal dance genre from that region, followed by a ramp walk by a child, holding a placard depicting the weave that a lady would be donning,” informs Parvathy Kumar from the society.
Bhajan groups get busy during Ganpati season, singing in various venues like temples, Ganpati pandals. Radha Krishna Mandali, a Namasankeertan and bhajan group of ladies, will begin their circuit with a session at their team leader Saraswathi Nath’s home, follow it up with bhajans at Ruby Jha’s home at Sarvodaya Nagar, Mulund West. “Ruby is a Sindhi, who celebrates Ganpati with devotion and offers Satyanarayan Puja followed by bhajans,” informs Vishnupriya Krishnamoorthy, singer from the group. They are scheduled to sing at Suryanarayana’s home at Oberoi Splendor Society, Jogeshwari East.
Busy team
Shrimant Yogi Pratishtan, has been active with a team of 140-150, including 40 women, for the past four years. Each programme has at least 55 to 60 players, wielding the Dhol, tasha, dhwaj, ganj, lezim and duff. Their programme calendar is full, spanning the entire city from Vile Parle to Vashi, Bhandup to Bhiwandi. They practise through the year, in the No Man’s land under the flyover, on the Eastern Express Highway, near Bhandup pumping station, with heavy traffic speedily moving on both sides, and passers by stopping to catch a glimpse.
It is heartening to watch the women in the team donning the traditional Kashti, nine yards saree, hair bun with veni, nath, et al. “Not only in music, even in attire we believe in keeping our parampara alive,” avers Ashutosh Shinde the team leader of Shrimant Yogi Pratishtan.
Breathtaking collection
“Waiting for hours on Junglee Maharaj Road, Pune, for the Ganpatis to pass through on their way for immersion, is etched in my memory,” says dance guru Jyothi Mohan, who has an interesting collection of Ganesha idols, gathered through the years. She inherited some tiny icons of Ganesha from her mother, as heirloom. Among them are a beautifully carved ivory image and a German porcelain one with ‘Made in Germany’ inscribed at the bottom, both more than a century old.
A slice of Jyoti’s collection
“Each time I shopped for a gift for someone, a different-looking Ganesh icon would catch my eye and I would buy it for my collection. Over the years I have collected about seventy tiny Ganeshas. My students saw my love for Ganpati and gifted me icons of different materials. My collection grew,” explains Jyothi.
A centimetre-tall soapstone Ganesha, a coral Ganesha, Ganesha on betel nut, icons made of silver, glass, copper, brass, bronze, gold-plated, gold, papier-mâché, clay, terracotta, marble, wood, stone, vettiver, plaster of Paris, fibre glass, sandalwood, different types of grains and pulses, etc. And Ganesha in different forms and various postures — dancing, sleeping, reading and playing musical instruments, Pancha mukha Ganesha, Ganesha with twelve hands, Ganesha riding a chariot driven by a mooshika — the variety is breathtaking.
Besides three dimensional idols, Jyoti has on her walls framed canvases, glass paintings, and sketches, some of them drawn by her son since he was four years old. A woodcarving of the dancing Ganesha, silver and metal coins with Ganesha inscribed are a part of the collection.
“It is long since I have stopped counting the number of Ganeshas I have! One October morning, as I stood at Shivaji Park beach, a huge wave brought with it a beautiful five-inch tall soapstone Ganpati. This gift from the sea occupies pride of place in my puja alcove,” concludes Jyothi.
