Ganesh Chaturthi, which celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesh, has been an event of social engagement and community celebrations. Goa with its unique quintessential cultural ethos brought communities together, sharing spirituality, love, and most importantly, delicious food.
Everyone at some time or other may have watched television series or have been told stories of Ganesh, son of Shankar and Parvati. Apart from the mythological and textual stories mentioned in the religious scriptures, dated history informs us that Lord Ganesh has been revered and was part of socio-religious life even before the eighth century. The carvings at Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples such as at the Ellora Caves, dated between the 5th and 8th century, show Ganesha reverentially seated with other Hindu gods.
The present form of the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi has been credited to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the King and founder of the Maratha Empire. However, the acknowledged piece of history is that with the British the celebratory fervour of the festival began to fade, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1892 pitched community celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi as the response to the clamp down on socio-religious restrictions imposed by the British. Since then millions have been celebrating the festival publicly, not just in India but the Indian diaspora has been celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesh in every nook and corner of the world wherever the devotees are found.
The celebrations have evolved over the years and the run-up to the Ganeshotsav is marked with preparations of theme-based artistic décor and mandals. Goa is known for the Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals and the popularity has only grown over the years with the introduction of the lucky draw coupons, which have attractive prizes to take home.
At home, the preps are marked by the making of laddoos, nevryos, and the essential favourite food of Lord Ganesh --modaks. The sounds of ghumot aartis, mesmerise and elevate the spirituality of those performing as well as listening.
However, behind all the physical devotion is the deep-rooted faith that Ganesha is the God of new beginnings and the remover of obstacles as well as the God of wisdom and intelligence. Every year, it’s the faith that a new lease of life awaits and the problems shall be removed that reverberates throughout the community.
The evils of rapes, murders and children being molested have become the deepest concerns in society, and despite all the trust rested in the government authorities, the results have been far from what is desired. That leaves the devotees to hope and put their faith that the year ahead shall bring peace and harmony in the society, and if not completely wipe out crimes, atleast reinvigorate the police force and the authorities concerned to fulfill their duties with sincerity and commitment to the law of land.
Whether at home or at the community mandal, everyone welcomes Lord Ganesh with a lot of love, prays with utmost devotion and when it’s time to go, the clay idol is immersed in the waters. And with that the faithful hope that the destructive forces too will be drowned in the waters, leaving behind a new community-spirited individual and society.
The faithful will seek relief from the self-invested elements in society and look forward to a new beginning of togetherness, moulded with love and respect for each other. In the present, though there are no restrictions on religious and social freedoms imposed unlike in the British era, the efforts to disturb the social fabric of tolerance, pitching communities against each other and transgressing discourses of faith, need to be addressed.
Celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi as a community festival beyond the realms of religious devotion and faith will bring down the empire of evil-eyed which envisions destroying the unity in diversity of the society.
Happy Ganeshotsav to all!