Happy birthday, Ganesha!
on Cowboys and Indians (India), 11/Sep/2010 11:42, 34 days ago
Today isGanesh Chaturthi, a Hindu day of celebration in honour of Lord Ganesha's birthday. For the occasion a shrine was constructed in the Ekta office, pictured above before the ceremony.As you can see, instead of wrapping his gifts, Ganesha himself gets wrapped up to hide him away until the party starts:We were due to start at 11am, but the ceremony was delayed because the priest was late. Lots of families and organisations host their own celebrations to mark Ganesh Chaturthi, so priests are in high demand and will lead several ceremonies during the day. When our man arrived, he prepared the ground in front of the shrine with a circle of earth. This is where he would build his fire:Meanwhile, Ganesha himself is unwrapped and then quickly festooned with flowers:The ceremony involves making offerings to Ganesha of fruits and sweets. He seems particularly keen on coconuts. One of them is burnt on the fire in front of him, producing thick plumes of white smoke, while the priest prepares more for the worshippers. I try and fail to imagine an English vicar breaking open coconuts with his bare hands during a service:The ceremony concludes with a fire offering to Ganesha, and the flame is then used to bless everyone as they pray. The room is by now full of smoke. After the flames are extinguished we get to eat the fruit that had been offered to Ganesha, and all his coconuts. He doesn't seem to mind.