It's that time of the year when clay and pottery are back in vogue in India. If you are wondering whether our middle class Indians have stopped splurging on posh chinaware and Tupperware and gone back to traditional cookery, let me douse your fears right away. We are talking about Ganesha Chaturti - the season when Ganesha comes visiting our homes and puts camp at street corners blessing paupers and posh alike. But why, of all, should we put up Ganesha statues in street corners, when we have temples in his name in every village and town. Let's dig a bit into our history a little bit and understand why.
This tradition was started in 1893 by Indian nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak. Lord Ganesha has the rare distinction of being one of the few gods accepted by all sects of Hindy society. Until 1893, his Chaturti was celebrated as private events at Hindu homes just like Chaturtis of other gods. Ganesha being a non-sectarian god, Lokmanya Tilak promoted Ganesh Chaturdi as a channel to bring all sections of Hindus (upper castes, lower castes and sects) together promoting grass-root unity (Remember Tilak was a nationalist, not a moderate). He introduced the tradition of installing huge statues/ portraits of Ganesha in streets, and converting the public unity and religious fervor at these celebrations into nationalistic tones against the British. No wonder, this function is the most popular in Maharashtra, his home state. This was one of the many mediums through which religious sentiments were redirected as political stirrings against the ruling classes during freedom struggle. The British have moved on, but the tradition lingers...
Courtesy: Who else than Wikipedia
This tradition was started in 1893 by Indian nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak. Lord Ganesha has the rare distinction of being one of the few gods accepted by all sects of Hindy society. Until 1893, his Chaturti was celebrated as private events at Hindu homes just like Chaturtis of other gods. Ganesha being a non-sectarian god, Lokmanya Tilak promoted Ganesh Chaturdi as a channel to bring all sections of Hindus (upper castes, lower castes and sects) together promoting grass-root unity (Remember Tilak was a nationalist, not a moderate). He introduced the tradition of installing huge statues/ portraits of Ganesha in streets, and converting the public unity and religious fervor at these celebrations into nationalistic tones against the British. No wonder, this function is the most popular in Maharashtra, his home state. This was one of the many mediums through which religious sentiments were redirected as political stirrings against the ruling classes during freedom struggle. The British have moved on, but the tradition lingers...
Courtesy: Who else than Wikipedia
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