Visiting the Big Guy

For the uninitiated, around this time of the year, Mumbai dons a happy, nay, jubilant face for 10 days. The reason being the celebration of the birth of our beloved God, Ganesha. The story goes that Marathas (Shivaji maharaja et al.) celebrated this festival. Later, during the British Raj, Lokmanya Tilak, a popular Maharashtrian freedom fighter reinstated this festival to promote a stronger community feeling among the people of Maharashtra. The venue of festivities also provided an apt location for speeches to agitate throngs of Indians, a tradition that is still carried out to this day in the chawl where Tilak first celebrated Ganesh Chathurthi.

Not a doubt, this is what we Maharashtrians look forward to – it’s our Christmas if you will and Ganesha our Big Guy, Jesus like. Except Ganesha has the head of an elephant (the mythological intricacies behind Ganesha will take up a whole book, let alone a post).

This year was rather special to me, as for the first time in four years, I was able to participate in all-out festivities instead of the demure puja at home that would not disturb my American neighbors. The city was dazzling with lights stretching on for kilometers and throngs of people lined up over many more kilometers to seek darshan at some famous sites that hosted massive celebrations of the Elephant God’s arrival.

I was more than enthusiastic about visiting the most talked about site – Lalbaug, whose idol is well-known as Lalbaug cha Raja( the king of Lalbaug). As luck would have it, this was the 75^th year of the Raja which meant that more than the normal amount of devotees showed up to take His blessings. So much so that some devotees waited for nearly 24 hours. As I read these news reports and watched the devotee line snaking its way all the way from Lalbaug to J.J, my enthusiasm was dampened by a fair measure. Somehow, I was certain that my impatience would outrun my devotion. Not all was lost, I sought blessings at another site – the Ram Mandir in Wadala also hosted a beautiful celebration and their Ganesha was decorated with real gold! And, the line was way shorter too.

When I got to Ram Mandir today, there was a queue. Of course. There was police force. Of course. But there were also many small businesses that had sprouted up. As we waited in line, stalls were lined on the side of the road selling pickles, religious offerings, food etc. But what caught my eye was the line of beggars right in front of stalls – they were handling the task of managing shoes (In Hindu tradition, one always seeks blessings barefeet). For a nominal amount, one could simply entrust their shoes to a beggar and remember which one they had handed them over to. Mind you, the temple itself had its own shoe stowaway spaces but they were choc-a-bloc – some even had 5 pairs of shoes stuffed in them!

As the line crawled into the temple (yup, we were lined out on the road amidst taxis and buses), I noticed so many contradictions. Poor children sat on the ground beseeching you to leave your shoes with them (a girl as young as 3 called out to me as her mother was attending to another “customer”) while women dressed in saris sat within the temple, weaving garlands from rose petals, asters and young white buds of mogra. On one hand, priests were scraping out coconuts and tossing the shells into large jute bins, while on the other, babies were wailing for their mother’s milk. On one hand, there were men and women dressed in fine silks, elaborate brocades and glittering jewellery while on the other, some devotees were dressed in white dhotis and the jhanva(thread of cotton strung across the torso), the rest of their body bare. Yet, none of this mattered in front of beloved Ganesha. Strange how God sees no difference in the devotion of a philanderer and a philistine, and yet we are so quick to judge – always evaluating, even as we stand to take blessings of a divine being who looks upon all as equal.

When we entered the prayer room, I was blown away by the deity – there was a massive idol of Lord Ganesha, the Vighnaharta (remover of obstacles), son of Parvati, the benevolent and magnificent God! He was bathed in soft golden light and richly decorated in gems – gold, rubies, diamond studded jewellery. And all of this from donations of devotees, mind you! There were large, many tiered lamps on either side of him, burning dimly or perhaps it was Ganesha’s sheer presence that diffused their radiance. Perhaps words cannot fully describe the effect it had on me which is why I shall refrain from attempting an explanation too.

The darshan itself was a comedy of errors of sorts. There were priests constantly ushering us to keep moving and I was so busy trying to take pictures that I didn’t even realize when the darshan was over. All of a sudden, I found myself outside again, squinting in the sunlight, amidst more throngs of people AND without having bowed my head or touched Ganesha’s feet! I scratched my head for a second and realized in shock and mild fear that I might have to stand in line all over again. So I turned around and went back from where I had just been sent out in my daze-y disposition and begged the priest to let me back in.

I told him about how I had not visited in nearly four years, how I was offering prayers not just from me but from my entire family that didn’t live in India anymore, how it would be a tragedy to let a bhakt leave without having expressed her bhakti. I am not certain if he bought my story or just got tired of hearing me bawling on and on. Either which way, he let me in! I was the happiest person as I touched the Vighnaharta’s feet and prayed for…

well, you never tell your prayers to anyone or they won’t come true!