Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Yesterday marked the beginning of Ganesh Chaturthi, a 10 day festival dedicated to Lord Ganesh, the son of Shiva. He is one of the most recognizable Indian gods because he has the head of an elephant. I also think he is one of the most accessible, with his potbelly and lots of humorous folklore about his wit. He is also the god of wisdom and good fortune and is said to be the remover of obstacles. Because of this, you find Ganesh idols in many cars and rickshaws in India (traffic and obstacles are birds of a feather) and I was given two Ganesh idols before I left for India to clear obstacles for me and bring me good luck on my new journey. Ganesh Chaturthi is supposed to mark his birthday and is also seen as a good time to start a new venture, as you will have fortune and luck from Ganesh himself. I was fortunate enough to go to three temples yesterday for the start of the festival, including the biggest Ganesh temple in Coimbatore. The line to get into the temple was longer than just about any I’d ever seen (it put roller coaster lines to shame) but it moved pretty quick and was surprisingly well organized, something that one doesn’t usually see in India. The actual idol was beautiful and his head was covered in turmeric to mark the day and after leaving the temple everyone is given sweets to celebrate the day. There was also live music and it was just a celebratory atmosphere in general- another side of India I feel lucky to have seen.

Coimbatore’s biggest Ganesh Idol, crowds and all.

You can see his head is covered in turmeric and he is adorned with many flowers. You’re not allowed to take pics inside the temple so that’s why these pics are from far away.

Today was just the beginning of the festival. People all over India build their own idols of Ganesh (many several stories high) and on the last day of the festival they march these idols to the sea/river/lake and submerge them, symbolizing the cycle of life. I will be back in the US for this part of the festival (thus I didn’t take the two above pics) and while I’m very excited to go home, I wish I was here to see this other part of the festival, I hear it is really worth experiencing!