Celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi the Special Way

Mr Jules and I were extremely honoured to be invited to a private family celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi (the birthday of Ganesha).  We took part in the festivities yesterday - consisting of an Aarti and a Prasad lunch - together with all 60 members of the Pandit family. 

Although the Pandit family has been celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi for close on 100 years, their family idol is rotated between the descendants of the five Pandit brothers every year - each branch of the family taking responsibility for celebrating the festival and therefore keeping the family connected.   

The Aarti really was a marvellous experience and a sight to behold - and the lunch that followed was simple but delicious.  I would like to extend thanks again to Shwetambari, Priyanka and their wonderful family for making us feel so welcome and so included. Thank you also for explaining the whole process to us in detail and for letting me write about it afterwards!  

As with any spiritual celebration in India, there is a format to be followed - with religious iconography, colours, lights, candles and singing. Amazing!  By the time this piece has been written, the Pandit Ganesha idol will also have been immersed in a lake at Aarey Colony.  I am sorry we will have missed that spectacle!

The story is better told in pictures:

Here (and below) is the sacred Ganesha installation at the Pandit household -
adorned with flowers and blades of grass etc

This is a representation of Parvati - the mother of Ganesha.  Lord Shiva (the father of Ganesha) - is represented here by a coconut in front of Parvati.

Powders for anointing the tikka (dots on the forehead)

Waiting to begin...mobile phones are always useful in these situations

Mr Pandit and the men folk (he was wondering whether he was going to end up on my blog
...well here you are Mr Pandit!)

Beautiful Pandit sisters!

This is the Modak - made by mum Mrs Pandit and central to the Aarti.  The Modak are sweet steamed dumplings made with coconut and jaggery and other ingredients and offered to Ganesha during the 'Shhodashopachara' ritual . Modak is believed to be Ganesha's favourite food (funny how he had a sweet tooth!)

Shweta holds the actual Prasad offering on a banana leaf (including one of the Modaks). Prasad literally translates as 'gracious gift'.

The girls show me their Mehendi - Priyanka has managed to draw Ganesha on to her own palm! (Far right).

The little percussion instruments that are used to assist chanting during the Aarti.

For those who have not memorised the devotional songs - hymn books can be used 

Amazing and mesmerising scene as all 60 Pandit family members crowd in front of the idol and chant Vedic hymns during the Aarti ceremony.

Mr Pandit presides over the Aarti - wearing a traditional Dhoti and Uttariyam (shawl)

The chanting of mantras is accompanied by swirling of fire in front of the statue. The Aarti plate must have on it a lamp containing the burning ghee or oil. The waving of the lighted wicks before Ganesha is done in the spirit of humility and gratitude - wherein the participants become immersed in the god's divine form.

The chanting of mantras invokes the presence of Ganesha using the statue as a body for channeling his energy (this ritual is called the Pranapratishhtha).  The room at this point becomes quite hot and intense with incense and soot from the candle flames.  Very atmospheric!

The ghee is being topped up.

Towards the end of the ceremony, the Aarti plate is passed around and those present cup their down-turned hands over the flame and then raise their palms to their forehead - the purifactory blessing passed from Ganesha's image to the flame - has now been passed to the devotee. 

After the chanting part, family members make offerings to Ganesha.

Afterwards we share in a Prasad lunch provided by the Pandits (nearly forgot to take a photo before gobbling it up!) - consisting of a farsan, dal spooned on to steamed rice, pulao, puris, sol kadi, pickles, mutter aloo (pea & potato curry) and cauliflower (ghobi) curry. No onions, garlic or ginger is used in the preparation of the Prasad lunch. Finally, one of the delicious steamed modaks which has now been blessed by Ganesha.

Family members in their beautiful, bright saris, get stuck into the Prasad lunch.

Stunning pink sari and blingy matching bracelets.

The Legend of Ganesha (according to Wikipedia)

Traditional Ganesha Hindu stories tell that Lord Ganesha was created by goddess Parvati consort of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed. Lord Shiva, who had gone out, returned and as Ganesha didn't know him , didn't allow him to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged by this and asked his follower Ganas to teach the child some manners. Ganesha who was very powerful, being born of Parvati, the embodiment of Shakti. He defeated Shiva's followers and declared that nobody was allowed to enter while his mother was bathing. The sage of heavens, Narada along with the Saptarishis sensed the growing turmoil and went to appease the boy with no results. Angered, the king of Gods, Indra attacked the boy with his entire heavenly army but even they didn't stand a chance. By then, this issue had become a matter of pride for Parvati and Shiva. Angry Shiva severed the head of the child. Parvati seeing this became enraged. Seeing Parvati in anger Shiva promised that her son will be alive again. The devas searched for the head of dead person facing North. But they found only the head of a dead elephant. They brought the head of the elephant and Shiva fixed it on the child's body and brought him back to life. Lord Shiva also declared that from this day the boy would be called Ganesha (Gana Isha : Lord of Ganas).

Celebrating Indian Festivals - A Dangerous Business!

I hope that my friend will not mind me telling you about an unfortunate occurrence that happened last week - as I hope that others will pay heed to the advice that follows.

During a Janmashtami celebration in my friend's building, someone left candles burning unattended in the lobby.  A candle flame soon turned into a fire which eventually reached her family's apartment several floors up. Luckily, my friend's son woke up, alerting the rest of the family to the impending danger and they all managed to get out safely. But her husband was hospitalised with smoke inhalation and they may have lost the contents of their apartment due to smoke damage.  The story could have been a lot worse and we are so thankful that the whole family (that includes several children) are all fine.  As yet, I do not know what happened to the other residents of the building.

My thoughts and the thoughts of friends are so with you 'A'.

Indian Festivals...Playing with Fire?

On the same day that this happened our housekeeper Reetha asked me if I was going to go and watch the Human Pyramid Festival (Dahi Handi). She then said that she had told her son not to join the celebrations as a 'Govinda'. The Govindas are the participants that make the pyramid and if they successfully break the Handi, they can win substantial monetary prizes.  As part of this, rival teams standing nearby will throw water at the other team to try and destabilise the pyramid.  Reetha told me that last year, rival teams started diluting these water sprays with acid.  Her son's friend ended up with permanent scarring across his face. I was horrified when she related this story to me and could only imagine that others must have ended up even more disfigured.

Precarious human pyramids abounded in Bandra last week.  A 6 or 7 old child tops this one with just a crash helmet for protection.  Scares me every time.

If they are not having acid thrown at them, then someone is usually being killed or maimed through the perilous nature of the Dahi Handi sport.  Some of the pyramids can reach nine levels and when someone falls off the top of the tree, they are surely going to die.  Mid-day newspaper nonchalantly reports on the deaths and injuries after this year's celebrations (after all it happens every year) - amounting to two deaths and 365 injuries.  Insane.  Not all of these are as a result of people falling off tumbling pyramids though; one person skidded off their bike between mandals causing fatal brain injuries; another person almost garrotted themselves on an unseen rope hanging in the middle of the road; and there was another death after a man fell 30ft from scaffolding after trying to fix a dahi handi on to a bamboo stick.  The Mid-day reports it as if it is absolutely normal - like these people are heroes for dying for a worthy cause.  A cause that involves smashing through a clay pot for money. Seriously?

And don't think you are immune from injury during Holi - the joyous festival that requires the throwing of coloured powders and bursting of water balloons on complete strangers.  Last year, hospitals in some cities around India reported cases of eye and skin allergies brought on by irritants in the coloured powders - compounded by the force of water guns/balloons being exploded in people's faces leading to corneal tears. There were also reports of such toxic powders causing itching and burning, eventually leading to blindness!

A street vendor selling coloured powders during Holi on my street corner.  Try to make sure you buy yours from a reputable place and preferably with organic/vegetable dyes rather than chemical.

In just under two weeks time, us expats will be looking on as the rest of Maharashtra celebrates Ganpati: where small, medium and absolutely enormous statues of Ganesha are carried through the streets of Mumbai and eventually drowned in the sea.  Sounds like fun? Yes, except that every year, someone involved will also end up drowning themselves.  In 2011, tides and undercurrents pulled a 20 year old Muslim man under the sea during the immersion of his friend's Ganpati.  In 2012, two boys drowned in Alibaug during the festival (this is all it said on the Times of India website - I could find no further information about how or why).

Photocredit: Vivek Prakash/Reuters/TheAtlantic.com

If you trawl through Google, it is also easy to find stories about people injured or maimed through the use of firecrackers during Diwali. I read about a defective firecracker bursting after a cricket tournament organised for children in Mumbai, resulting in two children receiving serious burn injuries. The firecracker - which was supposed to go up - had shot off sideways, burning the children.  And last year, one hospital alone in Delhi reported 200 burns cases caused by firecrackers.  Crazy.  In fact Mr Jules and I almost had our eyeballs taken out last year as we passed an imbecile who decided to let one off right in front of us.  Not nice.

It is a lesson to everyone out there to be so vigilant during the next few months which are full of the Indian festivals that we all love - from Janmashtami to Ganesha Chaturthi to Ganpati to Diwali to St Mary's Mount Christian Festival. Each and everyone of these celebrations will require the lighting of candles and flashing of lights - some will require the letting off of those dastardly and ridiculously loud firecrackers that frighten pets and humans alike. Our own neighbours will be laying out lines of tea lights and marigolds in our shared hallway during Ganesha Chaturthi; just as they did last year. And I will be monitoring them with eagle-eyes.

In the UK - we have lots of great rules and regulations for protecting each other during such events (although, admittedly they can be a bit over the top at times).  So here is some good advice about how to deal with candles and fireworks:

During festivals, many candles, oil lamps and fireworks will be used, so please take note of advice to prevent fires and injuries, particularly in the home. Candles should always be used in proper holders or secure containers as tea-lights can easily burn through a surface.

Most importantly, don’t leave any candles and oil lamps burning unattended, especially near curtains and soft furnishings, and always make sure you put them out before going to bed as that is when a fire often takes hold with devastating results.

For fireworks:

• Plan your fireworks display to make it safe and enjoyable
• Keep fireworks in a closed box and use them one at a time
• Read and follow the instructions on each firework using a torch if necessary Light the firework at arm's length with a taper and stand well back
• Keep naked flames, including cigarettes, away from fireworks
• Never return to a firework once it has been lit
• Don't put fireworks in pockets and never throw them
• Direct any rocket fireworks well away from spectators
• Never use paraffin or petrol on a bonfire Make sure that the fire is out and surroundings are made safe before leaving.        

Have a happy festival and stay safe folks.