A celebration that unites people

A celebration that unites people
The Hindu

Ganapati festival will go on for five to ten days depending on local tradition

HUBLI: No other festival attracts as much pubic attention and adulation as does the Ganapati festival, which is all set to begin on Wednesday. For the next five to ten days, depending on local customs and traditions, people will be preoccupied with the community festival, with Ganapati idols installed at various vantage points.

People take part in the festival without any distinction of caste, creed or community, and in a way it almost appears to be a secular festival rooted in tradition. For Ganapati, like Hanuman, is one of the most secular of the gods in the Hindu pantheon. Muslims too take part in the celebrations.

The public celebration of what had been, till then, a traditional religious event, came about during the early days of the freedom struggle. At a time when the imperial rulers frowned upon any talk about nationalism or patriotism by the local people, Lokmanya Tilak hit upon the novel idea of using the festival for the propagation of nationalistic and patriotic thoughts. The idea clicked and public celebrations of the festival began to be organised.

Cultural treat

In north Karnataka, in the days prior to the formation of the State when the region remained divided under different administrations, the festival helped to meet the craving of the people for literature and culture. The Ganapati festival became occasions where eminent men of Kannada literature were invited to give talks and musical concerts were arranged.

Over the years, commercial overtones have come to take precedence over the finer aspects of culture. Money is spent lavishly on embellishments and lighting, and different motifs in which the Ganapati idols are portrayed present a visual spectacle. Any motif, be it Puranic, political or contemporary, is good enough. Ganapati could don the role of Krishna, Rama, Tirupati Venkateshwara, any of the saints, or a present-day politician, depending on the imagination of organisers and artists.

There are families who specialise in making huge Ganapatis to order in many places, including Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum and Bijapur.

Institutions and organisations participate in organising the festival and Ganapati idols are installed in police stations, bus stands, at traffic junctions and housing colonies. There is a spirit of competition to put on the best show to attract visitors.

In Hubli this year, Ganapati idols are being installed in over 500 places. A federation of the organisations involved in the celebrations, under the chairmanship of G.S. Kamadollishetru, has for the past couple of years introduce awards for different facets of the celebrations, such as the best idol, embellishment and other aspects.

The finishing touches continue even after the Ganapati is installed with traditional fanfare on Wednesday. People from different parts of the region flock will flock to Hubli to participate in the celebrations for the next couple of nights.