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Today is Ganesh Chaturthi - a birthday celebration of Lord Ganesh. This article

brings the significance of this festival day in many parts of India.

 

regards,

 

Ram Chandran

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Myriad forms of faith

 

HIS ROUND charming face leaves an etched mark on everyone. He is

charismatic and overtly popular. He finds a place in paintings,

sculptures and everyone's hearts. He is the adorable Lord

Ganesha. Almost one out of five streets in Chennai houses a

temple with a special seat for him. He is there everywhere and no

household wears a complete look without his idol or a painting or

some artifact depicting his attractive face.

 

Says Mrs. Ramani, a housewife, "I feel my house is bare without

his presence. He adds life to everything and everyone around

him." Very true indeed! The smile on his face is vociferously

contagious and brings about a feeling of relaxation and

undisturbed calm. It is his remarkable face that attracts many.

"I somehow feel as if I've been set free from chains when I look

at my Ganesha," quotes Prathiba, a 19-year-old.

 

He brings about cheerfulness, joy and a vision of security to

those who worship and believe in him. More importantly, he is

believed to clear obstacles and answer to devotee's prayers.

Though sounding superstitious, the belief is supported by many

with quite a few anecdotes coming from his ardent devotees to

validate the point that he indeed was solely responsible for

easing these troubles. Opinions varied from a very thoughtful and

mature, "He helped me in my struggle to succeed in life," to a

childish "He helped me to get good marks in exams."

 

The reason for his popularity and widespread fame is obvious.

While Mrs. Aditya says, "He is easily identifiable. I can

immediately recollect his image in a flash.", young Punitha feels

he is extremely cute, which is being the reason for his

popularity. Colourful views about him are brought out into the

open. "There is a halo of playful innocence around him which

fascinates me. Further he is extremely childlike", says Nanditha,

a staunch devotee. Surprisingly it is indeed a fact that his

presence is felt everywhere. Four out of five cars have his idol

stuck on their dashboards.

 

And what an occasion his birthday is! Celebrated with pomp and

splendour, his glory is recited in hundreds of thousands of

verses. The flashy makeshift umbrellas, the clay idols that

depict his features in detail, the garlands and kozhakottais add

a wonderful touch to the celebrations. The size of the idols,

taken out on a procession to be immersed in the sea, keep growing

taller and taller each year in proportion with the love that

people have for him. Mythology has it that he instils a sense of

security and courage in the minds of these devotees and helps in

overcoming difficulties that they face. Very playful in nature,

his frame though childish still has an aura of respect. A very

artful creation one can say. So popular that even nature was

willing to play with him. Remember the episode when idols of

Ganesha were found to drink milk on a particular day. Though the

scientific reason being surface tension, as confirmed by experts,

it was still Ganesha who hogged the limelight.

 

Each individual's perception might be different but it is known

that all roads lead to Rome. Each one of his many devotees

individually associates themselves with him in different ways for

different things and yet the bond is the same. He is worshipped

and sought after by thousands. Another notable aspect is his

adaptability that people have given him which can be seen every

year on 'Vinayaka Chaturthi', where his idols take up a theme.

One year it was Ganesha helping India win the Kargil war, the

next year saw him rescuing flood victims then followed by victims

of the devastating earthquake reaching out to grasp his helping

hand and so on. The talk here is not to question the

authentication of his existence but to admire the equitable love

which his devotees have for him and their belief that it is

indeed him who saves them from trouble and safeguards their lives

and this genuine love is not an art that is to be preserved to

posterity but that which provides us with a vision of our future.

 

D. PRAVEEN

 

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