Today is the festival of Lord Ganesh, probably the god best known globally when it comes to the Hindu pantheon.
If there was a popularity contest among Hindu Gods, Ganesha would certainly win mr Congeniality hands down.
That’s probably due to his appearance. How often do you come across a chubby God with an elephant’s head? Riding around on a little mouse. No wonder so many people, the world over, collect Ganesh figures.
This is Sandip Roy in Kolkata
Lord Ganesh is a God who seems like an animator’s dream come true. Sanjay Patel, an animator based in southern California says he’s not very religious when it comes to rituals. But drawing the story of Ganesh is a way to pass on his cultural heritage to his children.
SP1: So what I do, what I what my children do see me do is dad is busy working on a story about a Ganesha.
It’s a way to retell the stories from India that are part of Patel’s heritage on is Ghee Happy Youtube channel. But in a way that will draw in children today. Like this Ganesha goes to school on his father’s flying bull.
GANESHA1:Ganesha. Hurry, dad, I'm late for school. Speaker2: I don't want to miss my favorite subject one. Speaker3: No problem son, nothing gets in my way. Not thunderclouds, not mountains, not giant elephants. Speaker1: We made it! Hey. Speaker4: Ganesha. You're just in time for lunch.
As he draws Ganesh and his brother Kartik having a sibling fight, his kids are intrigued.
SP2: they'll say like, oh, dad, why does he look angry? Well, Karthik and Ganesh are having a fight here and so there's an opportunity to talk about the stories.
There’s a reason he’s roly-poly says mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik in a video called Decoding Ganesha.
DP1: His huge pot belly reminds us of affluence, of wealth. Remember these images were done in times when food was in short supply.
Even the elephant head has its own meaning.
DP2: Elephant has no natural predator, so it can go anywhere. Nothing can come in its way. We want our lives to be like that
And the friendly rat at his feet?
DP3: Rat represents a problem. Greates king reatest warrior cannot solve the problems of rats. Ganesha keeps rats under control.
Ganesha isn’t just friendly. He also has a certain kind of smart that a kid can instantly relate to.Take that story of Ganesha and Kartik and their great race to circumnavigate the world. Kartik huffed and puffed as he raced around the world. Ganesh just sat his parents down and went around them.
It was so incredible to hear that story as a child and know that the handsome, super-athletic school jock didn’t always win the race.
But the genial cuddliness of Ganesha can also be his handicap. For the god who removes obstacles, his own cuteness can become the greatest obstacle of all.
GANESHA2: Wow. You're really good at blocking the way, Ganesha. Of course. Speaker1: I'm the god of obstacles. Cool. Got it. Popsicles. No obstacles.
Inside Hinduism he might be the Remover of Obstacles but outside the faith he has become more cute and less god. In a world of animated films where animals routinely talk in human voices, Ganesha can feel more Disney than God.
And he is part of the public domain. So you can put him on anything keychains t-shirts beer bottles slippers, even toilet seats. . Bollywood-themed parties in the West put up statues of Ganesha and Buddha for that exotic touch while bellydancers gyrate and the bartender mixes cocktails
Was anyone trying to disrespect Hinduism? Probably not. Ganesha just seemed cool to them. But the danger of cool is then a God becomes a commodity to be bought and sold. The god who removes obstacles seems helpless when the juggernaut of popular culture turns him into a potbellied party prop.
So this year for Ganesh Puja it will be good to remember that despite that round belly, the elephant head, this is a God. Entrusted with serious tasks like removing obstacles.
These days in a world strewn with new obstacles every day, a God who removes obstacles should be much in demand. And the last thing we should be doing is treating him like a cuddly toy. Devdutt Pattanaik
DP4: We pray to Ganesha so the rats are not there, the wealth is flowing in with joy, with prosperity, no predators, in a world that is cyclic.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi all.
This is Sandip Roy in Kolkata for KALW