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Everybody loves a good God

There are as many Ganesha collectors as there are forms of the endearing God.

PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.

A GOD FOR ALL TIMES AND TYPES Ganeshas have become coveted collectors' item

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

There must be something about the silhouette, that endears Ganesha to everyone. This globalised pot-bellied God has many followers and has been contemplated in a million forms, called "cute", feared and revered by turns.

The God of knowledge really inspires the most creative of streaks in humans. In a way, he also embodies the spirit of tolerance people have in a God de-mystified, turned groovy and playful or contemporary.

He can have a five-year-old "liking" him for no particular reason she can describe, sans any constructs of religion, faith, the sacred and divine. He can have a 70-year-old believing in him and drawing succour and energy 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.

People "collect" all sorts of things — dolls, coins, stamps, souvenirs, rare books, buttons, shells, stones, comics, DVDs, butterflies, teddy bears... Some may be accidental collectors, some inherit collections, some do it for sheer pleasure, many for no real reason.

There perhaps isn't a single Hindu household that does not have its own private collection of Ganeshas taking pride of place in the puja room or the "showcase" of the living room.

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 a leading group of companies.

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, Switzerland. Her favourites are a Ganesha comfy in a rocking chair and one riding a giant-wheel. When you talk of scale, Rajesh Chandak is from the big-league.

He has a 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.

BHUMIKA K

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