Monday, September 24, 2012

Ganesh Chaturthi Observations #1

Ganesh Chaturthi has begun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesh_Chaturthi

Finished Ganesha

The 10-day festival is a celebration of the birthday of Lord Ganesha, (also known as Ganapati) the elephant headed God who, among other things,  is the god of new beginnings and wisdom.  We first heard about the upcoming festival at our new staff orientation meetings before school started when his help was invoked on the start of this new venture. Our observation of the festival began a week or two ago as temporary shelters began to appear around the city to house the elaborate sculptures of Ganesha that are created and painted in bold colors (or colours if you prefer).  We went for a walk to see what if we could see some the work in progress.


Older Brother - proud of his work
Younger brother - blowing silver glitter on wet paint



Three very nice young men were proud to show off their work and to practice their English on us.  We were struck not only by the color and careful technique, but also by the great variety of poses and attendant objects and animals, each with it's own story.

Adding finishing touches
Ganapati - each one different
to be continued ...

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