Lord Ganesha now has an Aadhar-verified birthday and an address in the Kailasha.
Every year on Ganesh Chaturthi, devotees of the Hindu deity come out with creative ways to commemorate the Lord of Good Times (siddhivinayak). This year, after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, Ganesha fever has caught on with fervour once again, not just in Maharashtra but in other parts of the country as well.
In Jharkhand, for instance, Bappa has been spotted in a pandal designed like an Aadhar card of the deity himself. To celebrate the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, devotees in Jamshedpur have come up with a unique Aadhar Card pandal. According to the card, Ganesha's date of birth has been specified as the 6th Century and his address has been specified as 'Kailasha', referring to the mystical mountain abode of the Gods.
In place of the photo, the card has been cut out to accommodate an idol of the deity. The pandal even as a bar code, much like an original Aadhaar card. Scanning the code leads to a virtual image of Ganesha on viewers' phones or other digital devices.
Photos of the unique pandal have been going viral on social media with many complimenting the creativity of the pandal designers while other cracked jokes at Jamshedpur's rather offbeat take on Ganesh Chaturthi.
According to reports, the man behind the pandal, Sarav Kumar, was inspired by a similar Facebook-themes pandal in West Bengal.
The Aadhaar card mentions Ganesha's address as "Shree Ganesh S/o Mahadev, Kailash Parbat, Top Floor, Near, Mansarover, Lake, Kailash Pincode- 000001. It also states that the year of his earth is 01/01/600CE."
Many, however, questioned the date of birth mentioned on the Aadhar Card with some claiming that Lord Ganesha's birth took place much before the 6th Century.
So when was Ganesha born?
The historical origins of mythological deities are often contested due to the lack of surviving documents, texts, or other epistemological sources. However, some of the earliest mentions of the birth of Lord Ganesha can be found in the later Puranas, composed 6th century onwards. Ganesha also finds mentions in later Puranas like the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas but these are considered to have been added later during the 7th and 10th centuries.
Ganesha celebrations across India
After two years of Covid-19 fear and restrictions, Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations seemed to have returned to the streets with pomp and glory. Calls of 'Ganpati Bappa Maurya' rang out through crowded streets on Wednesday, as homes and pandals across states such as Maharashtra saw Ganesha idols being installed with throngs of devotees dancing and celebrating on streets, marking the beginning of the 10-day festival, popularly known as Ganeshotav.
Ayodhya-inspired Ganesha pandal
Meanwhile, a Ganesh pandal set up on the theme of the under-construction Ram temple in Ayodhya is attracting huge crowds in Gujarat's Surat city, with the organisers saying its pillars and lighting give visitors a feel of actually being inside the temple. The pandal was erected at a cost of nearly Rs 60 lakh, which came from donations.
Matchstick Ganesha in Odisha
Two sculptors in Berhampur city of Odisha have made miniature Ganesh idols by using matchsticks, ice cream and incense sticks. Hara Gobind Moharana, a garage owner, has made a seven-cm height Ganesh with a kilo of incense sticks, while Satya Moharana, a businessman, crafted seven idols by using ‘chumki’ or decorative stars, and ice-cream sticks.
(With inputs from PTI)
