Indian Events: Ganesh Festival

One of the Subcontinent's greatest cultural celebrations sees a parade of drummers and musicians, clay idols to worship, and a lot of powder around the river.

Of all the Hindu Gods, Ganesh is probably the most recognisable to Western eyes – he is the Elephant God.

Ganesh is revered all over India, but is particularly celebrated in Maharashtra. The city of Pune, in particular, marks Ganesh’s birthday with great gusto.

The Ganesh Festival goes on for a whopping ten days in early September, with many cultural events being crammed into the period.

A major part of the festivities during the Ganesh Festival in Pune, Maharashtra, India is the carving, sculpting and moulding of wooden and clay idols of the elephant god. Almost every resident of the city will create their own idol to worship in time for the festival.

The last day, predictably, is the most frenzied and exciting, with musicians pounding the drums and brass bands creating a hell of a racket. The parade of drummers and musicians then heads towards the river, accompanied by the idols and lots of people throwing scarlet red powder over all and sundry.

Now that’s what I call a celebration of a deity’s birthday – the Ganesh Festival is a proper festival, and it’s enough to make me think that our own Christmas celebrations are somewhat tame. Midnight mass, a big turkey and presents under the tree doesn’t seem quite as exciting by comparison.