Welcoming Lord Ganesh

Hello friends, come join me in the celebrations to welcome Lord Ganesh also known as Ganapati.

Today 19th September is Ganesh Chaturthi, it is the Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the son of Parvati and Shiva. The festival lasts for ten days ending on Anant Chaturdashi, during which the Lord is said to shower his devotees with blessings.

Lord Ganesh is considered to be superior to all the other gods and He is also the lord of wisdom, learning, prosperity and good fortune. He is considered the remover of obstacles. Any new venture like house warming, a new business, start of travels, marriage or any other pooja(worship) will start with a prayer to Lord Ganapati.

During the Ganeshotsav (utsav means festival) lots of goodies are made as offerings. The main offering made everywhere without fail is the Modak known as the Lord's favourite. The modak can be a steamed rice flour dumpling filled with coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and cardamom OR a deep fried wheat flour dumpling having the same filling. Of course in a vast country like India, every region has its own completely unique version of the modak.

This festival is celebrated in homes or on a larger scale in public places in which case it is open to all and anybody can visit the venue. Festivities start with bringing the idol which can be of clay or plaster of Paris. After celebrating with much pomp and splendor, on the last day the idol is immersed in water- lakes, rivers or the sea, to mark the end of the festival.  The idol is taken through the streets for immersion accompanied with song, dancing and merriment.

The immersion is said to signify his return to his heavenly abode and also the never ending cosmic cycle. 

Reams can be written about Lord Ganesh, the legends, significance of his forms, his 1000 names and so much more. At a recent visit to a book fair, I got a book about the Lord and today I will share some pictures from the book with you.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Siddhivinayak at Mumbai

Ganapati at Titwala

Three headed Ganesh

Five headed Ganesh

Idol being taken for immersion

You can imagine the size of the statue by seeing the tiny people in the crowd!

I hope you liked these photos of my favourite deity.   Now I have lots of places to visit and pay my respects, and lots of goodies to taste. I will see you soon with my next thread project.

Do keep writing to me.

Have a lovely week. Take care.

Love xxx

Stash Saturday

If wishes were balls, then....

I meant balls of yarn of course, what were you thinking!?  ;)
If wishes were balls of yarn, then I would fill up my room with yarn. My birthday wish for loads of yarn has come partly true. But with crochet thread and not yarn.

I had ordered for some size 20 crochet thread by mail order and it has just arrived. Here is a look at some of the lovely shades.

Greens, Oranges and Purple

Reds and Mints

Blues, Pinks and Yellows

Ombre and Variegated

Since good quality crochet supplies are not available in Ahmedabad, this is my way out. It does mean that I have to stock quite of lot of yarn or thread, but the cost of going to the business district of the city to buy yarn costs me three times as much.

I can't wait to start working with this thread. But before that I will have to get new glasses as working with thread is somewhat tedious, especially after getting used to working with yarn.

I am planning on a few doilies with flowers or butterflies. And then some lovely bookmarks. 

So, what have you been up to? I hope you have some rocking plans for the weekend. This weekend we will be traveling and I may not have access to the internet. But I will find a way to keep in touch.

Have a lovely weekend. Take care. Cheerio.

Love xxx