The elephant-headed God
It is Ganesh Chaturthi once again, and in many states across the country, people have started paying obeisance to the delightful Elephant-headed God. It kind of brings back memories of Pune two years back, which is the cradle of Ganeshotsav. The memories of colourful Pandals, huge colorful processions, prasadam, the ubiquitous dhol-tasha (drums and cymbals) ,Ganesha idols in hundreds waiting for Nimajjan ,. I was lucky to see some of the traditional Ganeshotsavs of Pune, such as the Kasba Ganapati, Dagdu Seth etc. Also the very first Ganeshotsav of Pune , which was started by Lokmanya Tilak as a symbol of national awakening and pride. And we had taken out an evening, with my daughter perched on my shoulders, roaming around the lanes of the old city of Pune, checking out the Ganeshotsav pandals. No wonder she was shouting yesterday, sitting in Kolkata, “ Ganapati Bappa Morya !” I still remember the strains of the hymn, “ Om Ganeshaya Namoh Namaha, Siddhi