Chennai dazzles with festive look on Ganesh Chathurthi day celebrations

It’s that day of the year again when the whole city of Chennai comes alive like the rest of India, with the routine, monotonous and serpentine queues of office-goers’ vehicles occupying the roads on normal days, replaced by buzzing, energetic religious faithfuls gearing up for the festivities, making hurried last minute trips to the market place to buy the essentials; when ubiquitous, huge clay-made and colorfully painted idols of the Hindu God Ganesha occupy many a street corner; and when enthusiastic housewives decorate their households with traditional adornings and cook equally traditional and ethnic delicacies as offerings to Lord Ganesha and treat themselves to the leftovers !!!! The day is ‘Ganesh Chathurthi’ and the main Hero is the Elephant headed Indian god ‘Ganesha’, one who is both revered as well as adored by people of all age groups over the millenniums in the Indian subcontinent.
According to the Hindu calendar, Ganesh Chathurthi starts on the ‘Shukla Chaturthi’ (fourth day of the waxing moon period) in the month of ‘Bhaadrapada’ and ends after a period of 10 days on the ‘Anant Chaturdashi’ (fourteenth day of the waxing moon period).
The present day version of the celebration includes huge clay made idols of Ganesha kept under thatched roofs called ‘Pandals’ and worshipped for the said 10 days after which they will be immersed in water bodies such as lakes or even seas in the case of seaside cities like Mumbai and Chennai. During the festivities, Lord Ganesha is adorned with garlands made of Bermuda grass and a shrub flower ‘Calotropis gigantea’ known as ‘Erukkam poo’ in the Tamil language. Also traditional vegetarian sweets and savouries are prepared at home to provide the much needed culinary and gastronomical angle to the celebrations.
During earlier years, the massive Ganesha idols were used to be made of plaster of Paris, but their immersion in seas and lakes were a cause of serious concern for environmentalists resulting in the Tamil Nadu state Government enforcing a strict ban on idols made of plaster of Paris. Today one can witness Ganesha idols made of clay and papier-mâché alone as these two pose no serious threat to the environment. The first day of the celebrations is a declared holiday in many Indian states notable among them being Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan where the festival is celebrated with much fervor.
Vijay Ram