Et. Al.,

Ganesha is back

Deepa Ballal

In the year 1999, one saw Kargil soldiers die at the feet of Ganapathi. In the year 2000, one saw Veerappan hiding behind lord Ganesha; it also saw lord Ganesha tinkering on the keyboard, what one would call, Cyber Ganapathi. We have indeed come a long way since Tilak started this tradition, to reinforce the spirit of nationalism in people.

Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival to worship lord Ganesha is round the corner. As the remover of sorrows and bestower of happiness, Ganapathi is worshiped by all. No work commences without invoking lord Ganesha. In fact one finds terms like Shri Ganesh in Hindi for the commencement of any noble deed. Such has been the significance attached to lord Ganesha.

Come Ganesh Chaturthi and one can see pandals erected all over Udupi.

Not to mention Subramanya Rao’s house which is flooded with activity in this season. He has been one of the prominent idol makers of Udupi for the past 35 years. Having started making idols under the guidance of his father Ganapathi Rao, he has witnessed all the changes that idol making has gone through.

Idol making is no easy job. The work begins during shuklapaksha, four months prior to the gala event. The clay has to be bought from the tile factory in Madi, a place 3kms from Pethri. No mixing as such is done. The clay is crushed, mixed with water and is ready to be shaped by the idolmaker’s magical hands. The feet are made first and then body is made proportionately.

Bala ganapathi, thandava, thrimukha are the various alankaras that are given to enrich Ganesha beauty. The murthi attains sanctity only after the iris is made. Precautions are taken to avoid cracking during the event, which warns of a bad omen. Most often natural drying is preferred.

Each member of the house contributes in its making in his own special way.

Every year the size of Ganesha has to increase by one battha (husk) as he symbolises prosperity. As such Subramanya Rao has no intentions of making a Guinness record.

What sort of Ganapathis will the market be flooded with this year? What sort of issues will be Ganesha shown dealing with, will it be the Agra summit or the Karunanidhi episode. After all with the present state of things the only person who could possibly have an answer is Ganapathibappa. One might wonder if this is yet another process of commercialising, but gods? No matter what the streets in Udupi would soon resonate with ganapathibappa morya purshavarshi lavkarya.