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Faith is just a trunk call away

There are as many Ganesha collectors as there are forms of the endearing deity. BHUMIKA K. is fascinated by the long-nosed, elephant-headed god who lends himself to very current interpretations

A GOD FOR ALL TIMES Whatever avatar Ganesha takes — symbolic, traditional, innovative, trendy or downright kitschy — everybody loves him PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.

He could be sitting on a swing, or crawling, toting a gun or a mobile phone, reclining and reading a book, playing the tabla or football for all you care. Whatever avatar he takes — symbolic, traditional, innovative, trendy or downright kitschy — everybody loves him. And everybody wants to "possess" him.

This globalised pot-bellied deity has many followers and has been contemplated in a million forms, loved and revered by turns. This endearing son of Siva inspires the most creative of expressions in humans. In a way, he also embodies the spirit of tolerance people have in a deity demystified, made groovy and playful, contemporary.

He can have a five-year-old liking him for no particular reason, sans any constructs of religion, faith, the sacred and divine. He can have a 70-year-old believing in him, drawing succour for his everyday existence. Ganesha is seen as the god of wisdom, the remover of obstacles, the harbinger of luck, and so much more. He's also, increasingly, a collector's treasured pride.

Sense of belonging

For 51-year-old Sunita Budhiraja, Ganesha simply makes her home so much more inviting. "He gives me a sense of belonging. He lives in my heart. He gives me inspiration and I like him. I have no one else in my house, but his presence simply makes the home so much more inviting at the end of the day. He makes it worth living in the house," says Sunita, corporate vice-president of the UB Group.

Her collection of over 1,200 idols is spread all over the house, including her kitchen. "He came to me as an artefact, as a collection, but later transformed into faith," says Sunita, who has been collecting now for 17 years, and has idols from Indonesia, China, Bhutan and Switzerland. Her favourites are a Ganesha comfy in a rocking chair and one riding a ferris wheel.

Faith and good vibes seem to draw 71-year-old S. Thyagarajan too to this iconic deity. A civil engineer in military service, he took to collecting Ganeshas after his wife died. "She was a Ganesha devotee and a batik-maker. She would often make batik Ganeshas and give them away to people. So I started collecting in her memory in 1988 and my first was a double-headed bronze Ganesha," he recalls.

Ever since, there's been no stopping him and he's sort of converted his home into a Ganesha museum where people can visit by appointment for a tour of his 1,500-strong collection. "I am what many would call a crazy sort of character," he laughs. "I collect pencil sharpeners, key chains and even make subject-wise scrap books. But I have an affinity to this god."

He even talks of a female form of the deity called the Ganeshini, besides a half-Hanuman half-Ganesha one. "A manufacturer who saw my collection was so fascinated he made me a terracotta Ganesha sitting on Lord Narasimha's shoulders and another one where the trunk is shaped like a train's steam engine." A Ganesha from Cambodia with a Buddha on his crown and a puppet Ganesha from Cambodia are some of his rare acquisitions. He even has a Ganesha toting an AK-47 and one who is a Scout no less! "Ganesha is in your mind. In whatever form you make him, it is acceptable," he surmises.

Sultan Thariani is a man most Ganesha collectors in the city make a beeline for. His store Chandni, in the Public Utility Building, boasts a vast and exclusive collection of Ganesha idols, most of which he himself has designed. When it comes to collectors, he's seen 'em all. "There are wealthy collectors who'll send their PA to pick up the latest design and flaunt them. Then there are those who will sell any asset to buy a rare Ganesha. Then again there are people who collect with all their heart and faith. They may not have the money, but they will still collect within their limits. I know of at least 5,000 Ganesha collectors in Bangalore. Some of them have up to 5,000 idols each!"

The big league

When you talk of scale, Rajesh Chandak is from the big league. For the last four years, this civil contractor has printed hundreds of invitations each Ganesh Chaturthi and invited people to see his collection of over 8,000 idols. "I first started out when we kept my child's teddy bears in the showcase. I added a few Ganeshas and it looked good. So I bought some more. After I started collection, business flourished and I never stopped," says this enthusiast. He's right now waiting for a set of Ganeshas being cast on wine glasses especially for him in Moradabad. "Of course, the glasses are only for display not use," he is careful to add.

His prized possessions include a complete chess set in jade where Ganesha is engraved on every piece, Ganeshas painted on a rice and a ragi grain (to be admired through a microscope), Ganesha and his vaahana Mooshika seated on a see-saw, a Ganesha spoon and a pen and a 100-year-old paan-box from Rajasthan with nine Ganeshas on it and Mooshika's legs for a stand.

Perhaps six-year-old Gautami is emblematic of Gen-Z — steeped in a world of cartoons, pizzas and attitude — but equally connected to the traditional realm. Her beginner's collection of 12 Ganeshas rests on a windowpane. She's got Ganeshas given by her mum, grandparents and her teacher. Ask her why she collects Ganeshas and she tells me very crisply: "I like it means I like it. There's no reason."

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