After spending over six years in Maharashtra, the festival of the beloved Elephant God has almost become a part of me. I remember being told to stay away from the maddening crowds that Ganesh Chaturthi brings, because there is a certain level of craziness involved that not all of us can digest.
But I recollect being a part of a visarjan party in Pune and even observing one from a distance in Bombay during the festival, and I know what it means to the people there. An equivalent would be Pujo in Calcutta. Only those who feel it, can ever know the meaning of an idol coming home, and with what hope they exclaim ‘Ganpati bappa morya; pudhchya varshi laukar aa’. We ask the same of Goddess Durga at home.
It is a week of happiness, colour, prayers and a general environment of glee.
I recently watched the Bollywood flick ABCD: Anybody Can Dance and despite the obvious connections it had with one of my favourite dance movie series – Step Up, I couldn’t help applaud the finale performance that is themed around Ganpati. Fantastic choreography and while I wish it wouldn’t be in Punjabi, the song isn’t too bad either.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!