Celebrating the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi in the village has a charm of its own. The entire village is buzzing with youngsters and children visiting different families while women are busy preparing the most sumptuous vegetarian meals. The sounds of the ghumot, the rhythm of the devotional songs and the occasional fireworks, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi in ancestral homes in the villages of Goa. From the decorations to the lunch and the rituals till the visarjan, there are a lot of responsibilities for each member of the family. But through it all, it is a festival that unites the family and not just a nuclear family with the entire clan sometimes spanning four generations under one roof.
It is a different feeling for children who have grown up with the celebrations and enjoying the company of their cousins for the few days. These same children grow up to set an example for their own children to bond with the celebrations. The bigger the family, the grander the union.
The Suryarao Sardesai family at Savoi Verem which consists of nearly 25-30 families unites every year at their over 300 year old ancestral house to celebrate the festival, as it is prohibited to have their own individual celebrations, in their homes. Interestingly, the Ganesh idol at the ancestral home of the Suryarao Sardesai family is red in colour with yellow clothes. Esha Sardessai is married into the family and travels from Bicholim to be part of the celebrations, “It is a beautiful celebration and we all unite for the two-day festivity. When the ghumat aarti is held in the Chovki in the afternoon, we place a mirror opposite the idol and the reflection of the sunlight shines on the face of Lord Ganesh. On the second day evening, we burn fire in a clay vessel in the middle of the singers and they have to perform till the fire burns out. With nearly 120 family members, we are still close-knit. We have a Whatsapp group that is active throughout the year,” says Esha. Among the 17 houses in the village, the Suryarao Sardesai family has to lead the visrajan every year.
Ganesh Chaturthi is a colourful festival that brings out the artistic side of an individual as they create unique and innovative decorations. For Ganesh Chaturthi, the most important factor when people pay visit to Lord Ganesh is the way, the entire altar had been set up. Young children feel proud when their Ganpati is the one with the most fruits, vegetables and flowers as their friends visit them and compliment them about it. Some things that go into creating this altar are Makar, the colourful backdrop setting for the idol, the chavai or patt, where the idol is placed and the mattoli, the frame from which seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers are hung. The Parab family in Palyem, Pernem has been winning awards for the innovative ideas for the past 5-6 years thanks to their enthusiastic children and youngsters. This year, they have created decoration on the theme of ‘Gajanmukh’, the head of the elephant, that too all eco-friendly.
Saish Prabhu works as an administrator in the education field but dedicates almost a month for the annual decoration. “We celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi for seven days and nearly 60 members of the family are present in the house. We are nearly 20 cousins and only 4 cousin sisters. We enjoy our time together and don’t even know how soon the days pass. This is the fifth generation celebrating Chovoth in this ancestral home. We start preparing the decorations nearly a month in advance. A total of 11 families come together for the celebrations and the food is cooked in the homes of three major families. Lunch and dinner is a plethora of vegetarian dishes and we enjoy every moment reminiscing about our childhood in the same house,” says Saish.
Probably the only family in Goa that celebrates the festival for 11 days, the Shenvi Velingkar family at Veling, Mardol, have been worshipping Lord Ganesha in the ancestral house for over 250 years with the Makhar decoration dating back a hundred years. Bhavesh Velingkar says, “In this world of nuclear families, it is precious to spend time with everyone. It is an exchange of ideas and thoughts and a lot of fun especially when we are preparing the decorations. Though we knew we are short on time to complete the work, still the coming together of everyone is truly important. What is even more special is that grandparents get to spend time with grandchildren and the bonding across generations. We have family members from across India who come back to the house to unite with the family and fewer members who are abroad schedule their holidays according to the celebrations.”
In Virnoda, Pernem, four generations of the Parab family unite for the celebrations. This year, they created Kailash Parvat as the backdrop for their Lord Ganesh idol. Every year, they pick a theme that will not only add beauty to their place of worship but can also teach the younger generation about Goan traditional arts. Sameer Parab, a mechanical engineer, is happy to see his children mingling with his cousins children when they unite. “We meet regularly for different occasion but this festival is unique because we come together in this home. We stay together and assist with the decorations. We enjoy the vegetarian meals and support one another. Every year, we take a eco-friendly theme for the decorations. Last year, we did coconut leaf weaving, Mollam to show the art to the children which will ensure that the next generation will also continue worship with the same reverence and fervour,” says Sameer.
The descendant of Gopal Nagde from Thorli, Chandai in Bardez, have a rule to live together for the five days of the celebrations at the ancestral house. The house was recently renovated to accommodate the growing family with over 100 family members living in the same house. Omkar Banaule is an artist and a professor at the Goa College of Art, Altinho. He recently used wooden beams of the house for an installation at an art exhibition in Panjim. “My daughter is the seventh generation that is celebrating the festival in the house. We usually celebrate for five days but this year, we will be worshipping the idol for seven days. Besides the joy of the decorations, one unique aspect of the decorations is the mattoli. The entire area of the mattoli which is a wooden canopy decorated with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and is made up entirely of wooden fruits and vegetables. It was a custom in the family that every new daughter-in-law when they present sweets for the first Ganesh Chaturthi in this house, they should also carry a basket of wooden fruits which becomes a part of the mattoli. This ritual has been discontinued but we have enough fruits to fill the matoli and each members helps in tying them up,” says Omkar, whose family includes advocates, engineers, teachers, social workers, politicians, police officers and RTO officers too.
As the festival unites family, it also encourages them to keep a close bond throughout the year till they meet again for the next celebration.