On August 31, 2022, Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated in Pondicherry, it is the month of Bhadra according to the Hindu calendar. We offer you a photo report in the streets of the city in search of Ganesh statuettes.
A gloomy and rainy weather is announced in Pondicherry, for this day which celebrates the arrival of the God Ganesh in India. Messages are exchanged from all sides on smartphones, to wish “Happy Ganesh Chaturthi”.
It almost feels like autumn. The temperature has dropped considerably.
The last French people who came on vacation or to volunteer for an association in Pondicherry have gone home. The Lycée Français International has reopened its doors for a pre-return, final year students, baccalaureate holders, have left their families to pursue studies in France. In short, here is a new comeback.
This morning, it seems that the rays of the sun, failing to be in the sky, have dispersed on mini-umbrellas to make the street of the market sparkle.
Everywhere in the middle of fruits and vegetables, sugar canes, flowers, statuettes of Ganesh, in fresh clay. Some potters even mold the object on site.
We discuss, we look, then we buy a Ganesh and its attributes, including this mini umbrella that shines like gold.
In the house thoroughly cleaned today, the dressed, flowered and decorated statuette will have a place of choice for several days. It will be covered with prayers, wishes.
In front of the Manukala Vinayagar temple, close to the Aurobindo Ashram, the elephant Lakshmi, dressed in her festive clothes and paintings, is busy blessing those who wish with her trunk.
The women on one side and the men on the other patiently wait their turn to enter the temple.
There is a joyful atmosphere, smiles light up faces and colors burst everywhere, as only the Indians know how to do.
In four or five days, in the early morning, the clay statue of Ganesh will be immersed in the sea accompanied by flowers and prayers. She will take with her everything that can hinder the peace of the family. Illustrating the cycle of birth and death, the statuette will dissolve, here, in the salt water of the Bay of Bengal.
Over the years, increasingly aware of environmental issues, the faithful use idols made of clay, buy and use flowers and natural materials for its decoration. A legend tells, moreover, that the goddess Parvati whose husband, Lord Shiva, had long since left, made her son Ganesh, with her hands with clay.
Consciousness may also be awakening, thanks to spirituality.
And to finish we offer you some photos of the astonishing collection of an Indian woman from Chennai who has amassed 637 figurines of the elephant god for 30 years. She sets them up on Ganesh Chaturthi morning and puts them away the next day. A collection of statues in wood, stone, earth, glass, plastic…
May the Lord of Ganesh help us to unify all the energies of our being, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, in order to overcome all obstacles and achieve the fulfillment of our efforts.
Jai Ganesha!