Ganapati Bappa Morya

This was actually, originally a comment I wrote on the Ganesh Chaturthi thread on SM.  I initially wrote it because I wanted to get the discussion back on track, but it's so long and potentially distracting, I'm cross-posting it/transplanting it here, so anyone who feels like discussing it can do so here, while keeping a Holiday thread as merry as it should be, there.  :)

Recently, when Abhi wrote a thought-provoking post on Mother Theresa, early in the thread I expressed misgivings so inarticulately, my discomfort with the entire news story must have been painfully apparent.  I'm not even a huge fan of MT, nor am I Catholic, for that matter, but I worried about the discussion becoming hostile to Christianity, which is a part of my life, and an important one at that.  I was concerned that the entire "hot issue" would become proxy for people who wanted to mock the mythology of a man in the middle east 2,000 years ago and that ugliness would creep in; I don't know if it did, I couldn't bear to look.

Everyone has the right to their thoughts and obviously, should feel free to express them, that's only fair.  But we should also, always remember that it is probably, almost always the case that whatever it is you think is an amusing news story or something to debate raucously...is a part of someone else's faith, core beliefs, identity.  It is a situation which is ripe for pain, offense and anger.  You could take this to ridiculous extremes, but you don't have to-- most of us were taught, by our parents, to tread carefully around religion, out of a respect which ought to be mutual.

Someone's mythology is someone else's messiah.  I wish we would be so sensitive as to keep that in mind continually, not because it's self-serving or b/c I feel like perching above some high horse, but because it's the kind thing to do.  Courtesy mandates that you not hurt someone or make them uncomfortable, that if anything you strive to achieve the opposite.  It's the right thing to do.

Holidays are perhaps the only doors which "others" have to religions with which they are unfamiliar.  There's the potential for a lot of beauty there, for joy which creates a deep, internal understanding which permeates how we think and treat each other.  My memories of synagogue-hopping at Purim or celebrating Vaisakhi at the Maryland Gurudwara have made me extra fond of Jewish and Sikh culture.  That's nothing novel, but it is powerful. 

Now I want to know more about this holiday, specifically what sweets are involved, because I heard that

a) Ganapati loooooves sweets (which just enchants me, since I eat cake for breakfast and dessert after lunch and dinner!)

b) he's associated with my second favorite childhoold breakfast: kozhakottai! (I loved eating the excess filling, which was nothing more than freshly-ground coconut/thenga with an egregious amount of brown sugar)

:)

Comments

[maxdavinci]

Hi anna,

Ganesh Chathurthi is one of my favorite festivals and I was pained by the thread was shaping and how mythology was being mixed with humor in the bid to sound witty. I therefore prefer to comment here and stay away from the so-called-dark saitire/humorous-comments on SM.

Firstly unlike what a few have said, Ganesh chathurthi is big even outside maharashtra. Hyderabad boasts of the biggest idols every year and this year being no exception with one Idol towering 45ft. An idol in Vishakapatnam is reported to be made of sand and stands 45ft as well!

Having lived in Mumbai and Hyderabd before moving to the US, I can tell you from experience that Vinayaka chathurthi is big! The phrase 'Ganapathi bappa moriya' is a marathi phrase and has been popularised by bollywood and thus leading to belief that the festival is marathi-centric.

South indian homes have a lot less toned down version in terms of idols, celebration, immersion etc but when it comes to sweets, there is no one to beat the southies.

As every festival demands, there is a payasam. Some house holds make even two versions of the 'rice payasam', one with sugar and one with jaggery. Then you have 'kozhakottai', which again has two versions. One is the sweet version that is made with jaggery and coconut stufing. The other is made with 'rava'(I don't remm the english name for it) and is a bit salty. Then some households even make a 'kanjira' which has a stuffing sugar and dry coconut and is shallow fried as opposed to the 'kozhakottai' which is steamed.

Leave a comment if you would like to know more but, I dont want to rob the festival of its flavor by commenting on the SM thread...

[muralimannered]

maxd,

soft skins make for easy hate, son.

also, as far as I know a 'Kanjira' refers to a clay pot used in Carnatic music. I'm not sure about the food item to which you're referring.

as to humor, mano, it is what it is. Much of Hindu mythology, as related through your aunts/uncles/grandparents/parents takes on a very melodramatic, fantasy-like tone (even the stuff in ACK comics). There are arrows turning into snakes, men becoming women and women becoming men by presumably herbal means, chariots flying, courteous, sometimes fratricidal monkeys doing the same...the list goes on and on.

And a story's particular allegorical power or moral impact is not necessarily diluted by the modernizing of certain elements. Husbands of today generally do not go out to war or to conduct giant Homas with all their rishi pals. Mothers of today are generally not in the habit of stockpiling sandalwood paste in their pantry for the purposes of alchemical reproduction.

If I ever have children, I shudder to think of how I can explain the wanton slaughter amongst humans in the Mahabharata or the capricious violence exhibited by Devas and Asuras in other stories. I wonder too about explaining the inhuman lengths that Sita has to go through in order to prove her worthiness and purity to both her husband and their subjects.

These questions can be dealt with by lightening the sombre tone that seems to be the assumed default for most religious stories and start thinking of them in different ways. This is of course if you wish them to be remembered in any form in the future.

Let not a discussion of Ganesha Charturthi become a Babri Masjid, Salman Rushdie or Ram Sethu.

[musical]

Hey Anna,

So you love modaks/kozukattai, and laddoos too :). i love besan laddoos. As for Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival is really big in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and also in Kashmiri and Konkani communities. Kashmiris call this festival Pun, and make a sweet prasad/naveed/neivedyam called Roth. This festival used to be really big in Bangalore, lots of fun! I miss all the festivities.....

[musical]

is it really Kanjira? i know of its as Karanji or gujiya!

[maxdavinci]

@muralimannered: sorry for the typo...

I agree to what you have said, but yet again there is something called faith. Logic and faith don't go hand in hand, What you have stated above is logic. Problems arise when we question faith. The recent sethusamudram is a very good example of this. Faith says that it is a bridge built by the Lord Rama. Logic says that there is no proven existence of the lord and the bridge is a natural coral reef. Science now says that it is a very important ecosystem that helps rare underwater species to thrive.

The ecologists tried a lot to stop the trenching of the bridge but in vain. Then comes faith, as soon as faith stepped in you can now see the uproar it has created. Every yuga has its own great war, only the names we know them by differ. The kurukshetra of then becomes the world wars of this century. What is symbolizes in the end is the victory of the good over evil. The astras of then are the missiles of today. The asuras of then are the terrorists of today.

There has always been a constant war since the inception of mankind, and good has prevailed over evil and come out victorious. Believers see the inner concept, rationalists see arrows turning into snakes. Every body has their own views, you put forward yours, here are mine....

@musical: Thnx for the cut-in, yea its Karanji...

[Rational]

Anna - "Someone's mythology is someone else's messiah. I wish we would be so sensitive as to keep that in mind continually, not because it's self-serving or b/c I feel like perching above some high horse, but because it's the kind thing to do. Courtesy mandates that you not hurt someone or make them uncomfortable, that if anything you strive to achieve the opposite. It's the right thing to do."

If tomorrow some [say a coule of million] people deem Narendra Modi or George Bush to be their Messiah, should we refrain from criticising them harshly?

[Maurice Reeves]

@Rational - "If tomorrow some [say a coule of million] people deem Narendra Modi or George Bush to be their Messiah, should we refrain from criticising them harshly?"

Well, Rational, yes, we should refrain from criticizing them harshly. If they're practicing peacefully and are harming no one then we should let them worship whomever they deem their messiah, no matter how much it offends us.

What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home or temple should not be our concern.

And yes, you have the right to question them, and heck, even criticize them, but why criticize them harshly? What do you gain? Have you known someone to give up on their faith because they've been criticized harshly? I don't. People who practice a faith do so in spite of rational evidence to the contrary. That's why it's faith and not science. Criticizing people harshly for their faith has the effect of either alienating them and you, making them feel persecuted, or worst of all, inciting violence.

Frankly if I were to run into someone who thought Dubya was God, I'd want to have a conversation with them to find out why.