Farewell to Lord Ganesha

If you ask me about the happiest ten days in a year, I will say without any doubt that the days we spent with Lord Ganesha in our colony. For my friends who are not familiar with Indian culture and religious rituals I would like to share a few things before narrating my experience.

Lord Ganesha, the elephant faced god is considered as the god who will remove all the obstacles in your path. This Hindu God is being worshiped before starting anything new. In the auspicious day of Vinayaka Chathurthi, idols of Lord Ganesha will be installed at various places. Usually it is being done by the people living in a colony or in a street as a team. The idol will be worshiped for ten days and on the eleventh day it will be immersed in nearby water bodies such as rivers, lakes or ocean.

These ten days really exhibit the might of team work and celebrate the union. The religious rituals followed by devotional music will have more entertainments such as fun games, cultural programs etc. This year it is estimated that almost 77,000 Ganesha idols were installed at various places in our city. The size of the idols ranges from two feet height to 59 feet height. 

This year I enjoyed it more because of my son’s presence. He born up on the auspicious Vinayaka Chathurthi Day of last year and within one year he became able to enjoy the drum beats and to raise his hands in tune with the rhythms of drums. All the ten days, we spent the evenings in the Pandal, where the idol was installed. I guess my son enjoyed the crowd and the noise the best. He might have felt Ganesh as his elder brother and that could be the reason why he cried when the volunteers lifted the idol and placed on the truck to take the same to the nearby lake. However, it was only for a short while. He quickly returned to his original mood and started dancing to the rhythm of drum beats. Of course he was sitting on my shoulder all the way.

After reaching the lake, the necessary rituals being performed by the priest who accompanied as and the hand of crane came down to lift the platform where the idol has been kept ready for immersion. The hooks were fixed. The crane started lifting its hand. Suddenly I felt a drop of tears in my eyes. It was just like waving bid adieu to someone whom you love the most. The pain will be much more when you knew that you will not seeing him again. I wiped tears with my handkerchief.

As the crane hand moved towards the middle of the lake, my little son too started exhibiting uneasiness. He might have thought that he is going to lose all the joy he enjoyed for the past ten days. The platform where the idol has been kept came down. It touched the surface of water. A few seconds left before I lose my Ganesha forever. My heart started beating fast. I felt like losing my courage. My mind filled with a different sort of agony.

As I kept on looking, the idol went down the water slowly. First it was the holy feet of God where we offered the flowers as a symbol of our heart, then the pot belly which is a unique feature of Ganesha. Then slowly the trunk, the sharp eyes and elephantine ears… I lost all my control and was trying to hide the tears from others. My son too went moody. The drums have stopped. The people who accompanied the lord all the way to the lake stopped their dancing. All were sad I believe.

I just turned back and went a few yards away from the lake as I was not able to see the lord going down completely inside the lake. There was a small piece of rock and I adjusted on it along with my son. As I was wiping the tears I heard the shouting from the lakeside.

“Agale Baras thu jaldi Aa” Come earlier in the next year.

Yes, I am also waiting for his visit next year as I love Ganesha close to my heart.