Ganesh
Chaturthi is a festival that adds beautiful touches in creating unique and
innovative decorations for Lord Ganesha. Many Hindu households happily welcome
you to have a look at all the hard work and devotion that went into presenting
their best to the god of intellect and wisdom.
In Mala,
Panjim, Lord Ganesha welcomes guests by dancing to the music on the arrival of
the monsoons. Yuva, a youth organisation of Mala, Panjim, has created an
eco-friendly Ganesh Dekhava made out of dry jackfruit leaves, coconut palms and
other tree parts at Fonte Pheonix, Mala, Panjim. “It is the product of sheer
hard work. We’ve used innovation to bring together art and culture with
creativity and technology. No trees were harmed while making this Ganesh idol.
All the by-products of the tree were gathered from in and around Panjim city.
We are also giving away seed bombs free of cost to visitors. The seed bombs are
donated to us by Rajashri and Akshay Khandeparkar. We want to spread the
message that by using seed bombs, we can grow a lot of flora, which will keep
our environment clean and green,” says Raghuvir Mahale, Founder of YUVA.
In 2015,
Yuva decided to have their first mobile app-controlled Ganesh dekhava based on
the Mahabharata. In 2016, they created a Ganesh idol of sawdust, paper, and
approximately 28,000 match sticks and introduced the concept of shadow control.
In 2017, they created a 15 feet tall Lord Ganesha with over 30,000 paper
quills. Last year, they made a Ganesh idol using 5,000 chalk sticks. The Ganesh
dekhava will be open to the public till September 15, 2019, at the Fonte
Phoenix (Mala spring), Mala from 6 pm to 10 pm.
In
Loutolim, when it comes to creativity, the doors of Big Foot always have
something intriguing to offer. An exhibition based on the collection of Ganesh
idols is on display at Casa Araujo Alvares, until September 8, 2019, from 9 am
to 6 pm. Maendra Alvares of Big Foot Loutolim has been collecting Ganesh
figurines of different styles and various mediums for the past 15 years. “The
idea behind the display arose from admiring the creativity that goes into the
making of the idol, especially when using natural materials like shells, clay,
wood, roots, etc. Beginning with only 25 idols, the collection has since
steadily grown to more than 3,000 idols. Currently, the exhibition has 3,681
idols on display, from artists all over the world. The largest one in the
collection measures 11 inches and the smallest is a grain of rice,” says
Maendra. The collection comprises pieces that he has collected in his travels;
gifts he received over the years and specially handcrafted idols made by
artists from India, Nepal, China and Singapore. The oldest idol on display is a
150-year-old sandalwood statue.
The Local
Beat, Goa headed by Mackinlay Antonio das Merces Barreto will take participants
to an island that has, over the years, become known for its chitras. The
one-of-a-kind Ganesha Chaturthi celebration will be explained by
author-photographer Pantaelleo Fernandes today, September 6, 2019, from 5 pm
onwards as a bus will make its way from Panjim. The participants will also be
treated to a traditional dinner at a local’s home as well as homemade sweets by
the villagers.
Raneche
Juvem is a small island on the Chapora River, surrounded by the villages of
Nadora, Revora, and Pirna; it was ruled by the Rane family from Sattari taluka.
The islanders of Raneche Juvem have their own unique way of decorating their
homes with small floats. Every generation has however improvised on the floats.
Mackinlay Barreto explains its uniqueness with regard to the Ganesh festival:
“It’s an island of around 35 Hindus families. One element of the Ganesh
Chaturthi ritual that is unique to the island is ‘chitras’ – decorations that
enact a theme. Almost every home has one with decor done by the residents
themselves for generations since island life back then would mean limited
access outside the island. The procession for immersion begins from the Rane
house, the biggest Ganapati idol on the island, and the rest of the idols are
carried on a cart to much dancing and fanfare. Interestingly, as in the past,
the immersion is done only after the boat carrying the idols do a round of the
island. Back in the day, a Sangodd would be made with multiple boats and the
idols would be placed and taken around the island. These pieces are narrated to
us by the islanders.”
Soul
Travelling will embark on a journey to the village of Mashel (also known as
Marcel) in Ponda. This village comes to life during this festive season and the
villagers let their creativity shine through their Ganesh Dekhave. The Mashel
Festive Walk will be held on September 7 and 8, 2019 from 9 am to 12 pm. “We
explore Mashel at its best, during the Ganesh celebrations. We find out all
about the traditional ‘dekhaave’ and visit famous temples. Apart from visiting
different houses and ‘dekhaave’, we actually discuss the making of Mashel. We
meet the people who create these installations and got Mashel on the map. We
also visit the Devki Krishna temple, one of the most unique in Goa. This year
the trail will be led by Mahim Sinai Bhandari, a professor at Dhempe College,
Miramar,” says Varun Hedge of Soul Travelling. The same walk was organised last
year and it was full, encouraging them to take close to 100 people.
