With every year, the number and visibility of sponsors increases. The paints on the idols are brighter, the crowds louder, the competition fiercer, the frenzy scarier… There is something touching about the way the emotions of an entire city (much of it at least) ride the streets along with Ganpati headed to the sea.
The big G!
The family god
On the band-wagon
Back home, Ganesh Chaturti in Chennai was a small mann pillayar – a mud Ganesha fashioned roughly with the hands – and a small idol bought for the occasion – no toxic paints, no chemical processes. And the naivedyam of kozhukattai and sundal as opposed to catered food!
I came across a couple of photographs on flickr that made me all nostalgic… (I am not able to blog directly from flickr for some reason, so am linking to them here) – naivaidya (Shubhangi Athalye) and making of the Ganesha (Chitra Aiyer)
I guess the large garish idols are something I can never get used to – I had written about it earlier in Ganpati rides again. I do wish people go back to a smaller, nicer and eco-friendlier Ganesha. or was that never the way it was in Bombay?
at home the tradition has been manjey pillayar (made of turmeric powder and water) with it being dissolved in ordinary water.
the ganpati is really tiny.
in fact the plan in lonavala from next year is mannu pillayar…its’ such fun putting it together 🙂