Ganesh

One of many Ganesh shrines scattered around our neighborhood

Ganesh is the famed Elephant-headed god who is revered as the remover of obstacles and a bearer of good luck. The Indians have a particular fondness for Ganesh - as do I. I love his elephant head, his interesting history and of course, his status as the remover of obstacles. Each year in India there is a 10 day Ganesh-fest, more precisely known as Ganesh Chaturthi, that brings more color and revelry to an already colorful and exciting place.

Ever since we arrived small groups of young boys would come to the door to collect money "for Ganesh". I happily contributed a few rupees to each group of wide eyed boys, not really sure where Ganesh's money was going -but since I always received a receipt it seemed legit.

As it turns out my donations as well as those of all my neighbors were going to purchase large Ganesh idols that would sit in tent houses scattered around the neighborhood and the city. Ganesh was everywhere. It was impossible to walk more than 100 yards in any direction through our little neighborhood without stumbling upon yet another idol. Each Ganesh was different, some were as small as one meter, some as large as three meters. Some where garishly colored, others were plain. But all enjoyed a shrine attended by young men, and an evening ritual of prayer and party.

Every night, just after sunset, the puja to Ganesh would begin, culminating in the sharing of lemon rice and wild drum-induced dancing. It was always a sight to behold. The drumming would last late into the night often after midnight, as the revelers paraded the streets. At the end of 10 days, in a parade rivaling Thanksgiving in New York, 10,000 Ganesh idols were brought to the Hassain Sagar (the large lake in the middle of Hyderabad) to be submerged. What a spectacle! We watched live from the dry comfort of our living room as idol after idol was hoisted by crane and dropped into the water.

However, the most memorable and certainly the most exciting Ganesh evening came just two days into the festival. On this particular evening, our landlord was taking us out on a little adventure to visit a Hindu temple just beyond the city limits. As the landscape became more rural and the traffic thinned we suddenly came upon a large Ganesh idol being pulled down the road by a tractor, surrounded by dozens of men, all of whom were covered in hot pink tikka powder, dancing to a cacophony of drums.

As we stopped the car I suddenly realized we had forgotten the camera. Of all the times to forget! This was just the opportunity I had been waiting for - and no camera. Thankfully our landlord took a few shots to memorialize the experience. As we approached, the excitement of the revelers hit a crescendo. We were presented with lemon rice wrapped in a banana leaf and each of us was adorned with a hot pink tikka on the forehead. As the drumming commenced again Pat was invited to dance. He initially declined, but quickly realized this was a dance worth having and jumped into the fray with arms up. The men of the procession loved it! They grabbed Evan too and he was hoisted onto someones shoulders - to his credit, while slightly alarmed he remained calm. Once the dance was complete all of the men scrambled to shake Pat's hand and offer their thanks. There were about three dozen pink men, and Pat shook hands with them all, offering his thanks in return for another once in a lifetime India experience.

Pat getting down for Ganesh