GIVING GANESH HIS DUE

Thousands of devotees recently converged the Ganesh Festival that took place at Utthayan Ganesh temple in Nakhon Nayok. at Ganesh Pujan was part of the 11-day celebrations of the popular Hindu deity’s birthday organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Association, the Indian Embassy and local Indian and Thai associations such as Dev Mandir and Shiva Temple Ramindra.
The last day of the celebration late last month saw a huge colourful procession of saffron-clad devotees and others in local attire waving flags and religious banners. Several Thai bands also participated in the procession. They kept chanting bhajans and kirtans to honour Lord Ganesh.
Prashant Agrawal, Charge d’Affaires of the Indian Embassy in Bangkok, and Major General Wanchai Singh-Thong, President of Nakhon Nayok Provincial Association were guests of honour, welcomed by Pra Ratcha Pipatkosol, the abbot of Utthayan Ganesh Temple and Susheel Kumar Saraff, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Association, Thailand.
 VHP Thailand president Susheel Saraff said his organisation has been instrumental in organising the Ganesh festival over the past four years. “The event has become a cultural bridge between Bharat (India) and Thailand.
The ceremony culminated in Ganesh Visajan, or a ritual to see off Lord Ganesh with devotees gently dislodging his clay idols into a river as Ganesh journeys back to his abode in heaven. The water also has another role – to wash away the devotees’ misfortunes. This ritual was performed to accentuate the ephemeral nature of life.
One of the devotees, Sukwasa Amornwuth felt lucky to join in the ceremony.
“There was no rush. We did the Ganpati Visarjan peacefully. It is a magnificent feeling. I have captured every mood of this festival. In my group, there were a total of 16 people and some of my friends came here from as far as Pattaya.”
Opened in 2008, the Ganesh Utthayan Temple hosts one of the largest Ganesh gatherings in Thailand. The temple houses two gigantic Ganesh statues. One is 15 metres tall and nine metres wide, and the other nine metres in height and 15 metres in width.
Lord Ganesh is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom and prosperity, and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture. The Ganesh festival celebrated widely by Hindus in India and abroad such as Burma, Cambodia, Canada, Fiji, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand and Trinidad and Tobago.
Today the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival, it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Many artists, industries and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. In Maharashtra, not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celebration like Muslims, Jains, Christian and others. In Mangalore, there is a belief that the eldest son of the home should be present during pooja.

SEE IT HAPPEN
 Photos and videos of the Ganesh festival are available on the Facebook page of VHP Thailand.
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