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Everybody loves a good God

There are as many Ganesha collectors as there are forms of the endearing God. BHUMIKA K. finds a few

PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.

A GOD FOR ALL TIMES AND TYPES Over the years, 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 kicking 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.

Faith and good vibes seems to draw 71-year-old S. Thyagarajan too to this iconic God. 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 and he takes visitors on 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 has a female form called the Ganeshini, and there is a half-Hanuman half-Ganesha form! "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 rare ones in his collection. He has in his collection a Ganesha carrying an AK-47 and a scout-Ganesha amongst others. "Ganesha is in your mind. In whatever form you make him, it is acceptable," he surmises.

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. He's right now waiting for a set of Ganeshas being cast on wine glasses, specially 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 pawn, Ganeshas painted on a rice and a ragi grain (to be seen with microscope), Ganesha and his vaahana Mooshika (the rat) playing see-saw, a Ganesha spoon and a pen and a 100-year-old paan-box from Rajasthan with nine Ganeshas on it and Mooshik'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 beginners' 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 replies: "I like it. There's no reason."

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