With the passing of Sunday, we have finally said good-bye to the beloved Ganapati...AFTER A 10 DAY LONG CELEBRATION IN HIS HONOR!! Ganapati, Ganesh, Ganesha, is one of the most beloved Gods of Pune. The son of Shiva and Parvarti, Ganesh is worshiped as the God of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune (he is what I'd like to call "the people's God" as his devotees go to him for everything ranging from good wishes on a quick property sell to hoping a loved one gets well soon). His favorite color, by the way, is red. :) For over 10 days (actually since our arrival in the city), the streets of Pune have been lined with stages, all which were waiting for September 1st when Ganesh Chaturthi would begin. During this time families gather, people celebrate in the streets (with skits, music, lights, and videos on stages), and the city is an extremely lively and interesting place (more-so than usual if you can believe it!). Celebrators of the festival often keep a Ganapati in their home (or the home of a family member) for a certain number of days, making offerings, saying poojas (prayers), eating tons of sweets, and gathering together to give thanks. The number of days you keep the Ganesh idol in your home all depends on tradition (once you begin celebrating Ganapati you must always keep him in your home for the same number of days. Some keep him for 1.5, 5, or all 10 days). Although I was too sick this past weekend to enjoy the final festivities, I still caught a glimpse of what was going on thanks to the non-stop news coverage of the Ganapati Immersion, which causes roads to close and celebrations to take place all through the night finally concluding the next morning! Here are some pics of my Ganapati experience:
(Ganapatis in homes. Each family designs their own set up for their Ganapati. The first photo, a Ganapati made from real gold and silver, belonged to a friend of my host mom (their set up was beautiful). The second, is from the first day of our Ganesh celebration where we saw our first pooja (prayer) and ate declicious curry and a special sweet called Modak (similar to a dumpling made with rice flower, steamed, and filled with sweet coconut and cinnamon in the middle...YUM!). The third photo earns the place as my favorite of the Ganapati set ups as this elaborate family-made setting even contained a running waterfall (taken on the special day of celebration when his two married sisters come to pay him a visit)
(A special pooja performed by 6 holy men. They sang a long chant (in an almost conversation-like way going back and forth between sides), asking Ganapati for many things, including peace. After the pooja we got the special treat of listening to prayer-songs for Ganapati performed by my host mom's friend, her two sisters, mother, and several relatives that together form a family band. Their singing and instrument-playing (including tabla!) was so cheerful and certainly a wonderful experience.)
(Just a casual Sunday night outing to see the Ganapatis around the city...ON MOTORCYCLES!!! Thanks for the rides Sam and Abishek!)
(After joking around about wanting to go up on the stage to dance to the really loud Indian techno playing, we were asked if we would do the honors of going up on stage to give thanks to Ganapati....in return I received..... (see photo below for answer!!)...Oh the perks of clearly being Westerners!)
(A COCONUT!!!!!!!! Which Didi (host mom) is going to use to teach me to make my favorite sweet-Karanji, a fried pastry stuffed with coconut!)
(Amy and I out on the town!)
(Celebrations in the streets! I can't recall a night during the festival that I couldn't hear the drummers)
(Scoping out the Ganapati scene)
( We were totally out past curfew....but that's ok! We had permission from Baba and Didi that we could stay out with their nephew and his friend a little late that night!!!)
On Sunday we bid farewell to Ganapati until next year. While my friends were out enjoying the celebration in the streets of Pune, I was unfortunately sick and spent the day "making the gargles" and seeing the celebration on TV, which still made for a great day!
(Home remedies for swollen tonsils: 1 part warm water, 1 spoonful of salt, and a dash of turmeric...for flavor, and to take the edge off of the extremely salty water. Definitely an improvement on my mom's turmeric-less recipe...sorry mom!!)
(News coverage of the Immersion, the final day/night/next morning of the celebration!)
Thankfully I am feeling better just in time for a weekend trip to the Ajanta and Ellora caves!!! Can't wait to post on my Buddhist Art Temple adventures!!
dream.love.discover,
Dachelle <3
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