Ganesha Chaturthi

Every year the Elephant-headed God, Ganesh, descends to earth from his home and stays on earth for 10 days after which he returns, taking the obstacles of his followers with him. To celebrate his presence, Hindus show their faith by having a plaster model of the elephant god in their homes to which they offer prayers, flowers, and ornate decorations. At the end of the 10 days the idol is carried to the sea and immersed in the ocean where it will dissolve. This final day, called Ganesha Chaturthi was yesterday.

We called in a babysitter and headed down to the ocean to watch the amazing events. The streets were packed with people, trucks, cars, rickshaws, and cow-towed carts, all decorated with flowers and tinsel and carrying idols. Music blared while people danced and threw dry paint over each other. The road was so packed that the cars could not reach the beach without a wait of several hours, so we got out and walked the rest of the way.

The dregs of monsoon season clung tenaciously on so we were drenched by the time we got to the beach, but what a sight to behold. The idols are so beautifully painted and some are larger than the people carrying them! The day is alcohol-free ... which is probably an excellent idea ... so the mood was all very good-natured, happy, and controlled. The people chant a melody, praying that Ganesh come again the following year.

My photos of the event are all very dark and speckled with raindrops, but I'll try to find a good one and load it on to this blog tomorrow night (the above picture is from a public website).

This festival causes any environmentally conscious person to shudder - the day after beachcombers will find shoals of fish washed up on shore, victims of too many idols dissolving their heavy metal-rich paints into the sea.