Come August and the great Hindu diaspora gets into a celebration mood. It is said (atleast in my family) that Holi marks the end of the festive season whereas Raksha-bandhan and Janmashtami mark the beginning. So after a dry spell of nearly five months, the Indian diaspora finally has a chance in August/September to deck-up and demonstrate (read: exaggerate) their love for festivals.
Ganeshotsav - celebration of the birth of the elephant headed son of the Hindu deities Shiv andParvati - is one of the most prominent festivals in the western parts of India. It is said that one of India's more famous freedom-fighters, Lokmanya Tilak, popularised the festival as a grand public event (prior to his efforts, the celebrations were private and within the family). The idea was to facilitate community participation and provide a common meeting ground for people of all castes and sects in a time when social gatherings were prohibited by the British rule (somwhere in 1893). The celebrations included learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. so as to spread the messgae of unity and evoke nationalist feelings.
Lokmanya Tilak was a great visionary. But even this great visionary would not have envisioned the future of the practice started with a noble thought. While the festival, even after more than 100 years, is celebrated as (or maybe more) grandly as (than) it was celebrated then, the essence of the celebrations has undergone a lot of change. Instead of promoting unity and oneness, patrons are often seen drunk out of senses, eve-teasing, abusing and fighting. Bhajans and devotional songs have been replaced by the whacky filmy numbers. The traditional dhol and lezim have been replaced by the mordern DJs, flash lights and cheap dances. Not that I am not a fan of the new age hindi music and dance, but its just that your love for those songs and dances can take a back seat sometimes...specially when the ocassion is an auspicious one.
Maybe someone fore-saw this day and therefore the ritual includes submerging the Lord's statue in the waters. Because the way things are today, I am sure that the Lord himself would be wanting to drown himself in water out of shame looking at his 'modern' devotees. Going by he way we are influenced by movies and music, it is quite possible that one day we see the deity's statue in the following avataar:
Videos of the dances i spoke about
Ganeshotsav - celebration of the birth of the elephant headed son of the Hindu deities Shiv andParvati - is one of the most prominent festivals in the western parts of India. It is said that one of India's more famous freedom-fighters, Lokmanya Tilak, popularised the festival as a grand public event (prior to his efforts, the celebrations were private and within the family). The idea was to facilitate community participation and provide a common meeting ground for people of all castes and sects in a time when social gatherings were prohibited by the British rule (somwhere in 1893). The celebrations included learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. so as to spread the messgae of unity and evoke nationalist feelings.
Lokmanya Tilak was a great visionary. But even this great visionary would not have envisioned the future of the practice started with a noble thought. While the festival, even after more than 100 years, is celebrated as (or maybe more) grandly as (than) it was celebrated then, the essence of the celebrations has undergone a lot of change. Instead of promoting unity and oneness, patrons are often seen drunk out of senses, eve-teasing, abusing and fighting. Bhajans and devotional songs have been replaced by the whacky filmy numbers. The traditional dhol and lezim have been replaced by the mordern DJs, flash lights and cheap dances. Not that I am not a fan of the new age hindi music and dance, but its just that your love for those songs and dances can take a back seat sometimes...specially when the ocassion is an auspicious one.
Maybe someone fore-saw this day and therefore the ritual includes submerging the Lord's statue in the waters. Because the way things are today, I am sure that the Lord himself would be wanting to drown himself in water out of shame looking at his 'modern' devotees. Going by he way we are influenced by movies and music, it is quite possible that one day we see the deity's statue in the following avataar:
Videos of the dances i spoke about
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