Ganesh. This highly worshipped god who removes all obstacles. He symbolises wisdom, intelligence, education, prudence. People call upon him, pray to him, implore him and celebrate him at the time of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The number of days for celebration must always be odd numbers…eleven or thirteen, according to the years. The event cannot be missed because it celebrates one of the most worshipped deities of India: Ganesh, the son of Shiva and Pârvatî, the link between the human and the divine.
During the Ganesh festival, which takes place between the months of August and September, he is depicted in a series of small statues. Traditionally, the latter are sculpted in local clay, all sizes before being coloured and personalised. Each participant of this festival, which is particularly popular in the Mumbai area, is purified in the waters before acquiring a representation of divinity. Installed on the altar of the house and decorated, the small statue remains in the home and receives prayers morning and evening directly addressed to Ganesh. People lay offerings at his feet till the last day…when they go back to the water.
Carried in a procession, each Ganesh statue is immersed in a lake, a river, a sea or even a pond created for the occasion. The clay then decomposes and returns to nourishing earth. The cycle is completed, prayers are addressed, the divinity is celebrated… till the next year.
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