The Fabulous Ganesh!

My first Indian festival and first real experience of Hinduism!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post explores my own personal experience of the festival with some facts gleaned after confusing conversations involving basic English and gesturing - therefore it cannot be taken as a fully accurate account of Hinduism.

The festival is called Ganesh Chaturthi began on the 9th of September and lasted 10 days.

The story of this elephant headed god is an interesting one. I've only heard sections so far but here's the whole tale courtesy of good old wikipedia:

"Lord Ganesha was created by goddess Parvati consort of Shiva. She created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed. Lord Shiva, who had gone out, returned and as Ganesha didn't know him, didn't allow him to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged by this and asked his follower Ganas to teach the child some manners. Ganesha who was very powerful, being born of Parvati, the embodiment of Shakti, defeated Shiva's followers and declared that nobody was allowed to enter while his mother was bathing. The sage of heavens, Narada along with the Saptarishis sensed the growing turmoil and went to appease the boy with no results. Angered, the king of Gods, Indra attacked the boy with his entire heavenly army but even they didn't stand a chance. By then, this issue had become a matter of pride for Parvati and Shiva. Angry Shiva severed the head of the child. Parvati seeing this became enraged. Seeing Parvati in anger Shiva promised that her son will be alive again. The devas searched for the head of dead person facing North. But they found only the head of a dead elephant. They brought the head of the elephant and Shiva fixed it on the child's body and brought him back to life. Lord Shiva also declared that from this day the boy would be called Ganesha."

Quite an origin story. I now finally understand why he has an elephant's head. 

We had Monday off as the festival began. I was excited to witness the spectacle and was lucky enough to experience the setting up beforehand. a ramshackle set of metal poles were set up and some tables by the students and some adults then sheets were spread over the top to create a nice tent known as a Pandal. 

Our School's Pandal 

This was to be Ganesha's residence for the festival. Decorations were hung - fairy lights, pictures and Mango leaves. Then he arrived into the tent (after  waiting from yesterday with his face covered.) 

Ta Dah! Quite a countenance! 

He was placed over an area which had a Rangoli pattern and over which Padma (our link person) had blessed rice and placed leaves. Then he was sanctified with turmeric paste and a red spice, Kumkuma, which was dotted on various parts. Garlands of fresh flowers were laid over him and different fruits were given as offerings.  In his left hand  he held a sweet called Laddu covered in gold leaf and his right a fresh water Lily. 

Pramatala, a mother of a pupil who lives with him at the school and works in the Kitchen, was busy coating string in turmeric and tying leave onto the threads. These were later worn by bracelets by people to for protection and blessings. 

Ganesha! So colorful!

Then the first Puja (worship) began. The initial part is known as the Pranapratishhtha. A CD played the mantras to invoke the presence of Ganesha using the statue as a vessel. The mantras were chanted by everyone including the kids. 

Each worshiper had turmeric smeared on their chin and Kumkuma dotted on their foreheads. Me included.

Me Turmeric-ing Pramatala's chin. Note my ginger beard!

 

Pupil with the Kumkuma dot. She led me through a lot of the Puja! 

Then offerings were made. Dry rice was thrown at him and water was put on a leaf then sprinkled over him.Flowers were shoved in every nook and cranny. Coconuts were violently smashed off a brick (with varying degrees of success) the water drained with a little being splashed over him then the fruit was offered. Later a portion of the coconut water was poured into people's right hands to be drunk immediately. 

Giving flowers as offerings

Incense was lit and the smoke wafted over him then the worshipers. A small metal oil lamp was also lit and wafted over him then the worshipers wafted the smoke to their eyes before praying. 

Lighting the Oil lamps

Throughout Puja bowl of food were sitting in front of Ganesha. After the ritual was complete each person was given a handful of Prasanum (sanctified food). This commonly took the form of Chickpeas, Coconut and some yellow seeds with sugar. This also serves a function beyond nutrition, spiritual nourishment. I was told that eating it would give me some of Ganesha's strength and blessings. 

Pre-blessed food! Tasty!

Anna and I were encouraged to join in the Puja. This was great and gave us a real insight into the rituals. 

Yes that's a Balaclava

We also had many sweets during the festival, especially for puddings. Ganesha has a sweet tooth it seems! Anna and I were lucky enough to be involved in the making of Ganesha's favorite sweet.Dough was rolled into chunky "snakes". My playdough skills came into their own. Then the dough was boiled and served in a thick sweet gloopy sauce. Hard to eat with your hands. We also ate many other types of desserts but I won't make you hungry by describing them all now. Although Laddu proved to be a favorite.

There was also music courtesy of the CD player. The music was fun and exciting and very Indian. Sadly, the music was played very loudly from 6am. Then at midnight drum processions went through the local streets. Certainly not a quiet festival!  

Padma explained why Ganesha's statue came to the school. His presence brought protection and blessings. The twice daily Pujas gave him strength to continue. After 10 days he is returned to the earth by immersion in a river.

Padma and her Husband praying

Statues are dumped in the Hussain Sagar lake (which is famous for it's Buddah statue - multiculturalism!). Around 55,000 each year. Sadly we were unable to witness it first hand as it's far too crowded and dangerous.

Cranes were used to dump larger statues. Not my picture. Note the crowds! 

However, we did get to say  bye to Ganesha. He was carried out by some male staff members and a few older boys. Some kids came with and danced through the streets chanting "Ganesha". He was deposited in Mayuri Marg's biggest Pandal with a 10 foot Ganesha. All the people who live on the street had deposited their Ganeshas there too. They were all later put on a lorry and taken to the lake. We returned to the school where a party was happening. Anna and I danced with the kids. Saw some crazy dance moves that night! 

 The next day as Anna and I walked along the pavement next to the Dual carriageway, returning lorries devoid of Deities but covered in revelers drove past. They all called and waved to us which was funny.

During the festival the local Telegu newspapers features lots of pictures of various Ganeshas. It was interesting to see the various artistic styles and use of materials. Some shown were made of food, one was even made of pills for a local hospital. Very creative.

Another Ganesha who came to join the festivities. Different style and design. 

The newspaper also mentioned frequently the environmental impact of the festival. For me, especially as after this Gap Year I'm going to study Sustainable Development, this was very interesting. The annual dumping of over 55,000 statues in the lake is obviously not good for the environment and lake ecosystem. There was many reports in the newspaper of the environmental dangers of Plaster of Paris which does not biodegrade. They reported the benefits of Clay statues which broke down in the water. These messages were accompanied by local celebs endorsing the idea. I'm glad there is an environmental awareness around the festival and many people are trying to be responsible for the ecosystem. 

I found the idea of a physical embodiment of a God to be very interesting. There are apparent benefits to worshiping a visible, tangible god and be able to give offerings to him. I enjoyed having the opportunity to join in the celebrations and be part of the rituals. 

Overall the festival was fun and interesting. I'm very grateful to have been able to experience it all first hand. 

India - Week One (and a bit)

Yes! I'm finally here. After months of prepping for it, I'm at last on Indian soil.

The 22 Indian Volunteers flew out from Heathrow and spent 24 hours travelling to finally reach Hyderabad. The flight was better than I expected, even had tasty plane food (a miracle). I was lucky enough to have a window seat on the way to Hyderabad and got to see India from above. 

Mumbai Coast

 India is... Unbelievable. Every documentary i'd ever seen on the nation come to life, and then some!All the right things are there; the cows meandering across busy roads, bright yellow auto-ricksaw, beautiful saris, tons of people... the list could go on forever. It's so exciting and interesting. I love it. 

We had a two day orientation from our in-country Representatives - Bharavi and his son Abhilash. They told us everything we needed to know and more. It was a nice welcome to their country. They seem very capable and wise. 

Then finally we were off to Devnar! 

Our first view of the School    

It was not as I had imagined. For one it was huge,  four storeys with a central courtyard. It was Sunday and kids were free. They were running around yelling and having fun. I was surprised by the independence of the students. We met some staff and were brought to our room by a gaggle of excited kids. 

Our room! 

The room is basic but comfortable with two beds a desk and an en suite bog. The bog''s not very cheery but it does the job. We have since moved the beds and desk and put mozzie nets up. We have an extra luxury... a Fridge! This is for a valid reason, to store Diabetes meds for my partner Anna. But doubles as a water cooler (amongst other things). My only complaint would be the NOISE! It's constant, birds chirping, children shouting and singing from all over the building, the sharp screech of a table being dragged around at top speed by hyperactive children and numerous surprise bangs. For me it's a huge change from sleepy Crieff! 

We are frequently visited by nosy kids who bang on the door or appear suddenly at the screen with a cry of "2456 Anna/ Sidra!!" (my name is hard to pronounce). Worse is when they lock us in! But they're so cute it's hard to get too annoyed. 

My PT partner Anna and some girl students

We spent this week settling in, trying to figure out how everything works and meeting the staff. There are 40 staff including teachers, wardens, kitchen staff and admin. Each person has a reason for being there besides a salary. Many have a child who is a pupil. They all clearly care about the school and the children there. I'm inspired by their perseverance and positivity. Despite a  distinct language barrier they are very friendly and welcoming. They've taught us so much about Indian life already. I'm sure we'll become close. 

The language spoken most at the school is Telegu. Anna and I hadn't expected that, we were told it was majority English. The children all speak Telegu and most of the Kitchen Staff don't speak any English. This has lead to many communication problems, but We're slowly learning the language. "Namaskarum" is hello, "Bannunara?" "Bannunomo." How are you? I am fine. "Annam" Rice (very important word). We are also learning Braille as the children are very proficient. 

Adjusting to Indian life hasn't been smooth but it's definitely been interesting! Everyday we've eaten meals in the school canteen. Curry and rice mostly. We eat with our Right (never our left!!) hand, mixing the curry into the rice then attempting to shove it in our cake holes! Not pretty!  There's some kind of curry at every meal. It's normally on the spicy side! We've also had Upma (hard to describe other than stodgy and sweet), Waddu (deep fried rice flour doughnuts packed with green chlli),  various types of sweets and much more. Branded food is also readily available at the many local shops so I won't go hungry. 

We've also learned a lot about customs and culture. For example, I learned after buying a lovely gold and black necklace for 80p, that I couldn't wear it. Why? Because Indian women signify their marriage by wearing black beads on gold chains instead of gold rings. So much you can learn without expecting it! We've also been given a total Indian makeover! 

Ta Dah! Indian Girls.

We were taken Sari shopping and got the blouses made at the local tailors.Putting them on required expert advice so Padma (our "Indian Mum") dressed us. It's super complicated but looks very elegant (even on me). WE wore our hair in the traditional way with a hairclip and fresh flower garland, wor Bindia on our foreheads, our hands had been Mehindi's (henna) by our friend Kavitha and we borrowed Padma's Indian bling. The staff were all very complimentary. 

One culture shock was the attitude to waste. I'd been warned about this but never expected to participate. The surprise came when we had to empty our room bin over the wall. I knew there is a river behind there which is an important habitat. For me it was particularly troubling as I'm going to Study Sustainable Development and so on. I felt very guilty. But it's not too far removed from throwing waste away at landfill, just more direct and more involved. It's more honest in a way. I'm now looking for ways of reducing what I throw out and reusing stuff. It's good for me to experience this. 

Anna doing the deed- she says "Sorry nature" 

We've also been taught how to wash clothes the Indian way. It involves three buckets and a lot of heavy scrubbing! Washing machines are so useful!!

Looking normal washing our clothes in the loo

Leaving out to dry in the hallway - standard practice

We have had a few chances to take classes. Some were thrust upon us. Which to be honest was very stressful as we had no clue what to teach. We now have a timetable, I teach classes 1B, Lower Kindergarden, 4 and once a week 5A. each class is so different. They aren't as well behaved as I expected and the way they've been taught is so different to what I expected too. Many can't understand a direct question, just repeat. But I'l getting better at improvising and problem solving. Riot control... that's a different matter. 

Teacher's day was celebrated at the school on the 5th of September. It's a very special day for the  school. The children take great pride in honoring their teachers. Gift were given and speeches were made. It really showed me the importance of education to the children. Sadly, I fell ill with "Delhi Belly" and missed most of the proceedings. I'm assured it was a good day. 

Pupils and Teachers watching the gift giving 

Overall I'm glad to  be here. There's so much to see, do and learn. I'm so grateful to everyone who got me her and too those taking care of me now.