Be ready to eat Modaks, Laddus and other mouth watering delicacies this 29 August, as India unites to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. It is a festival celebrated in honour of Lord Ganesha, whose idol is worshiped with a variety of herbal leaves, plants and then immersed at the end of the festival.
Ganesh Festival was started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and is considered a perfect time for creating a holy atmosphere in the house. Ganpati Puja is not only restricted to India, it is widely celebrated by Hindu families residing in countries outside India, such as Nepal, US, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma and the list goes on.
AnimationXpress.com reached out to folks in the industry and got them chatting on how they celebrate this joyous festival.
Excerpts:-
Vaibhav Kumaresh, founder of Vaibahv Studios said: “Most of the time I make an idol with clay and I have been doing that since childhood. I am not really religious to the core, but am always excited during the festive season as I get to dig into some mouth watering delicacies, as I am a big foodie. I eat loads of Modaks and love my simple ‘dal chawal’ along with other dishes.”
Shilpa Ranade, animation Film-maker: “This year I will be celebrating Ganpati at my sister’s place in Delhi. We make an eco-friendly idol and worship it for five days. I have spent most of my childhood in Pune, so there used to be a small parade with the idols of Ganesha on chariots in the heart of the city. My mom still makes the best modaks I have ever had. Ganesha overall is a very enduring character in itself and I would love to make something in the future using it as a character.”
Ranjit Singh, animation veteran: “Ganesh Chaturthi for me is more like a social gathering. There is a big musical showdown, we play music and dance. There is a festive mood for three days in the house. All our relatives, cousins and friends do sleepovers at each other’s place. My sister-in-law is the designated one from the family who makes all the patent dishes. It’s more of an elaborated feast on these days. But it’s been more than six years now that we have stopped doing the Visarjan.”
“There have been fantastic films on Ganesha. Samir made a short film in 2005. The film was about how all the Ganesh idols that get immersed under the sea have a party. I think it was a brilliant concept, as a deity he has thousands of interpretations. He has been projected in different shapes and sizes, and I am sure he will continue to feature in many more,” he added.
Abhijeet Kini, founder Abhijeet Kini Merk: “Ganpati plays a very important role in my life as my family has been celebrating it for the last 38 years. We have a big puja at home; all our relatives and friends come over. This is the time when we socialise a lot. We keep the idol for one and a half days and do the ‘visarjan’ on the second day after 3:00 pm. I remember as I was the youngest grandchild I was always the first one to get sweets after the puja and then I used to tease my cousins. I also try to visit the pandals in Khar and Bandra.”
“It is one of the cutest characters in Indian mythology and very children centric. Ganesha has already been portrayed as an animation character, but I feel there is more scope to experiment with him in the future,” he stressed.
Chetan Sharma, director, Animagic: “Ganpati is an amazing deity on so many levels! He is personable, gentle yet powerful, from an artistic point of view, what a creative expression of the divine! My sister always gifts a lil Ganesha statue whenever she finds an interesting one; so he has always been on my table. In fact I have had one black statue which has been on my table since I began in animation 20 years ago! Some years back I realised he was based on a statue in a temple near Ankola Karnataka, which coincidentally is also where my mom’s family originates! I was very pleased with that personal connection! I don’t consider myself religious ritualistically speaking, but I do believe that the deities guide and help us through finding our own spiritual centre or the temple within us all!
Gayatri Rao, director, Animagic: “Since childhood I have been drawn into the community fervour of ritualistic celebrations binding us together in the common thread of faith. Ganpati personally speaking is like a guardian angel always watching over me. Seven years ago, I was gifted two ceramic idols – one large and one small – and taking that as a sign I set up the Ganesh pandal in the studio which seemed to signal a new beginning for us. We started our first feature, ‘Tripura’ soon after! We would welcome him with flowers and prasadam, chants and aartis for all the 11 days. In these prayers for blessing our activities, I found that he would be guiding me through a voice commonly called intuition. One’s mind has a lot to say, of course, easier said than done to declutter the mind! (smiles)”
Here is a sweet poem by Gayatri on her feelings about the deity:
On the appointed day one would do a symbolic immersion of the idol in the garden in a large earthen tub with fish, flowers and floating ‘diyas’. One such time just before the immersion, it was revealed to me by a clairvoyant friend… that he didn’t want to be immersed and wanted to stay put with us!! Baffled with the implications of how to balance the rituals thorough the year I anyways, bid him farewell.
It was a tough year to say the least. I realised not to take his gentle presence lightly. More importantly, I realised that what he meant by not wanting to leave, was that he wanted be a part of our daily experience. He wanted more than just being worshipped for 10 odd days. He didn’t want my worship; he wanted me to continue the divine connection. To stay online!! Now I don’t need a ritualistic reminder of pujas and tithis for this anymore. Ganpati is here to stay!