BEDARKAR

Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in India. In Sydney, we look forward to the occasion like no other, and discussions on the theme start several months in advance. The design and planning of our celebration is treated like no ordinary project.

A touch of nostalgia

My wife Rashmi and I grew up in families wherein the Ganesha Chaturthi festival is a very important celebration. As a young boy of 6, I witnessed my uncles and teenage cousins going to great lengths in preparing the pooja altar. On the day of the pooja we looked with awe at the red eyes of my eldest cousin. The beautifully crafted altar would be a reminder of a sleepless night as he prepared the decorations overnight.

Growing up in Mumbai, I witnessed the local youth coming together to collect money from households for their preparations. These groups were very much like the rugby teams found in Australia. They tried to outdo each other in being creative, and noisy too. Each of these ‘teams’ would erect elaborate ‘dioramas’ depicting various episodes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas and other legendary stories. I remember one particular scene depicting a 10-foot tall baby Krishna statue on all fours raising an arm to eat a laddoo (sweet dumpling). We were particularly excited and impressed with the arm that moved forward in an eating motion. The team that incorporated some or other movement in their theme was considered particularly creative.

Ganesha in Australia

According to our traditions, when the eldest in our family gets married, it is his responsibility to invite Ganesha into the family. When we arrived in Australia, my wife and I started celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi in 2001, the year after our wedding. At the time we invited Indians and Australians alike, and some of our friends had young children as little as 8 months and 2 years. We lived in Newport. Some of these families would travel over 30 kms just to show their kids how the Ganesha pooja was conducted.

of drawings later, finally the design was agreed on.

We picked up the nava graham theme this year, partly because of the number 9 involved in it. This Ganesha was our ninth year of celebrating the festival. Last year we depicted ashtha vinayaka for the number 8, and the preceding seventh year, we created the ‘7 chakras’ in our body.

We told ourselves that we would celebrate one festival well and thoroughly, and recreate a truly Indian feeling, one that would make our children feel proud of us.

Rashmi and I were truly touched by the effort these families made and it struck us that we sometimes go through a whole year without even knowing which festivals have come and gone. We told ourselves that we would celebrate one festival well and thoroughly, and recreate a truly Indian feeling, one that would make our children feel proud of us. They would see the effort we put into the celebration and would get to understand their Indian culture better. We found inspiration in the awe with which the children look at the decorations.

Threshing out the theme

This year, our planning as usual started over four months in advance. In this period, we brainstormed over the theme. Once the theme was set, the design was made. Lots

This year, our theme depicted the nine celestial bodies that we can see from the earth. The nava graha are commonly worshipped in India and especially in the south. The grahas are Surya (Sun), Som (Moon), Mangal (Mars), Budh (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu and Ketu. Rahu represents the head of the mythical snake and Ketu, the tail. Ganesha is set in the centre, depicted as the source of life, the provider of light, warmth and nourishment to the other planets and all living beings.

Working as a team

So we began the work. We found that MDF or particle board is a versatile material to work with. We drew, shaped and cut the board. This process lasted over four weekends. Then we began the painting. We decided to make the spinning wheel if time permitted. Kanek, our 16-month-old boy and Nishtha, our 5-year-old girl were keen helpers. Nishtha can use the screwdriver well; while Kanek helped us paint the pole, although he painted his face, hair and also the floor in the process. Rashmi’s sister Neeta was a keen helper too, and our other friends Aastha, Prajakta, her daughter Roma, and a few others helped too.

The celebrations

This year, Ganesha Chaturthi was on September 1, and the auspicious Ganesha pooja or Ganesha staphana is held on this day. Our friend Sumedh and his wife Gauri helped us with the pooja. Depending on individual traditions, every family houses Ganesha for one, three, five or ten days. Ganesha is offered his favourites – modak, a dumpling made from palm sugar, coconut and durva, three bladed tufts of grass and hibiscus flowers. Devotional songs were sung and vedic verses were chanted, while Ganesha’s 108 names were sung in unison. The whole atmosphere was charged with feelings of devotion, celebration and a certain spiritual ecstasy.

Profound symbolism

The grand farewell is on the ananta chathurdashi, the fourteenth day from the new moon. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The thought is that anything that is created, has to get dissolved into the elements. The celebration sends this eternal message, as Ganesha Chaturthi signifies the birth of Ganesha, and the offering of his idol to the ocean symbolises his return to the elements. The decorations cannot be kept with the person who creates them, so we try to give them away to friends. The deep symbolism, the hidden message is so profound! The only permanent aspect of matter is change. What is created will eventually be offered to the elements. Getting overly concerned about material possessions leads to sorrow. Joy and bliss lie in embracing change and working in unison with our environment.

Spiritual and social

Apart from its religious connotations, the festival is really a socio-cultural event. For us it is a way of depicting and celebrating religion by combining the spiritual with the social. We celebrate religion as it should be, nonsectarian and giving, with no hidden agenda. Followers of every sect celebrate the festival with devotion and joy.

It was Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak who escalated this festival, which was celebrated privately in Maharashtrian homes, to a social event. It was a method to encourage unity and solidarity amongst the youth so they could unite for good causes and raise spirituality within the community. He also had the vision that India’s political freedom could be achieved through a united youth who would stand up for what is true and fair.

Our Ganesha Chaturthi celebration was enthusiastically supported by family and friends who volunteered their time to make the event a success. The flame that ignites every year seems to be perpetual. Ganapati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi laukar yaa! (Hail Lord Ganesha, hope to see you soon again!) These chants from during Ganesha’s departure are but a reminder that next year’s celebrations will be even better.

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