Good God, Ganesha

Ganesha's image is more popular than that of Krishna


What Ganpatyas were to Ganesha, artists in modern times are to the elephant-headed deity as the trend of painting everyone's favourite God acquires epidemic proportions, reports Nirupama Dutt
Come September and the predominant motif meeting the eye is that of Lord Ganesha. In the Capital, 15 artists painted Ganesha for a show at the Little Theatre Gallery held in the first two weeks of the month. And the many moods of the Vinayaka were portrayed by Dehra Dun-based artist D N. Mishra for a show at the Le Meridien Hotel. If there be one Hindu deity who has captured the national imagination in an unparalleled manner literally from the Indian Ocean to the Kashmir highland; from Brahmaputra to Mumbai island – it is none other than the cuddly, happy Ganesha.
The elephant-headed, potbellied, happy-go-lucky deity seems to have upstaged far greater deities of Hindu mythology as far as pure popularity goes. In these, our modern times, this God was the centre of a miracle which sent Hindus allover the world into a tizzy, for their favourite devta had accepted to be spoon-fed with milk by them. Idols of Ganesha in temples and homes were reported to have accepted milk offered to them.
Not that other deities have not been in the news but it has taken much more than a fe3sw spoons of milk to do so. It took the infamous Rath Yatra and finally the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya to bring into focus the mighty Ram, the most popular of all the incarnations of Vishnu. Not so with the friendly neighbourhood Ganesha. He is not the God of kings or priests. No great temples have been built for him either. He belongs in all simplicity to everyone. W J Wilkins in his book, Hindu Mythology, says: ``The Deo eats, sleeps, marries, and lives the life of an ordinary mortal; and though he is regarded as a fool in worldly matters, he is worshipped as a God. On special occasions, his actions and movements are most carefully watched, as they are transient manifestations of the divine will, and are regarded as prophetic. Thus on a particular night of the year, should he remain in peaceful sleep, national repose is predicted; should his slumbers or his waking moments be disturbed, national calamities are expected. If he starts wildly from his seat, seize a sword, or make any warlike movement, war may be looked for.''
Goodness, Gracious, Ganesha! Given such a reputation, it is little wonder that all want this deity to be happy riding his vehicle of a rat, gorging on laddoos and drinking rivers of milk. The deity is pan-Indian with special pockets, of course, where he sends his devotees into rapture. Just recall the frenzy Ganpati Bappa Morea causes in Maharashtra. One of the most popular astrologers of our times, Bejan Daruwala is a self-confessed Ganesha devotee. He will no predict without adding the famous phrase of his, `Ganesha willing'. Lord Ganesha's blessings are sought before starting any venture from a journey to a new job, from a business enterprise to marriage.
So it is really not very surprising that he should also be the most popular image to figure in calendars sold on pavements and pricey works of art hanging in posh galleries. He also forms part of the popular Puja show, which has a re-run next spring at the Smithsonian in the US, along with his parents, Shiva and Parvati.
Many people recognize the works of F N Souza, the patron saint of the progressive group, by his paintings of Christ. But just go to Dhoomi Mal Art Gallery in New Delhi and there are a number of works by Souza in which he has painted the ganpati. Says Mona Mehta, whomanages the gallery: ``We always have buyers for Ganesha. Last year, the Indian Farmers and Fertilisers Corporation bought eight Ganesha paintings from us. They even brought out a calendar on the deity.''

Maqbool Fida Husain too has painted Ganesha and this is one time when he has not run into any trouble. For, here is a deity who, according to one legend, was made of the herbal scrub that parvati, wife of Lord Shiva, peeled off her body during a bath.
Jogen Chowdhury is yet another artist who humanized ganesha, taking away the embellishments and ornaments. In some works, he even presents the deity as emaciated.
Anupam Sud makes a broad social statement in painting the immersion of the idols of Ganesha in a work titled my God, your God. It is the surprised look on the face of one idol and surrender on part of the other with the human faces completely earnest which add to the power of the work.
Thus it is the dictate of the market which seems to decide the theme an artist must adopt. So next time one walks into a gallery and finds that all the 40 works on display by a young artist feature Ganesha, there's no need to buy the mumbo-jumbo: ``This form interests me so. There are so many possibilities in it… The simple truth is that this is what sells or may sell. And no harm done. But, perhaps, Ganesha has been repeated all too often in contemporary art not just because there is a market for it but also because buyers will not haggle over the price of the Hindu God of Prudence, Policy and Prosperity. Not only do people believe in keeping an image of Ganesha in the home but it is also believed by some that it is auspicious to keep as many as 108 reproductions at home. So artists have a valid reason for painting him over and again.

Interestingly, the Puranas have a few legends testifying to his miraculous powers. Perhaps, it is the corpulence and tragic-comic tale of his birth and how he got the elephant head on his human body that make him most endearing. And then girth has its uses, otherwise why would the image of the Laughing Buddha be so popular?
Many are the names with which this deity is addressed in the Mudgala Purana. Some of the names used most often for him are Vinayaka (remover of Obstacles), Vighneshwara (Lord of Obstacles), Siddhidata ( Bestower of Obstacles), Vighneshwara (Lord of Obstacles), Siddhidata (Bestower of Success) and Ganpati (Leader of Ganas). Yuvraj Krishnan who has written a book on the deity, Ganesa: Unravelling An Enigma, holds that here is a deity whose public relations were handled most effectively by the Ganpatyas, worshippers of Ganpati, as well as the Aryans, who admitted Ganesha to the fold of the Brahmanical gods, to be able to win over the local population.
Delhi-based painter Narendra Pal Singh, who recently made two dozen versions of Ganesha, says: `` enjoyed every moment of it but I related his form to modern life.'' Art critic Vinod Bhardwaj, who has written a dictionary of contemporary Indian art in Hindi, says: ``Jogen (Chowdhury) is perhaps one of the few artists who has given a new dimension to the Ganesha form. Much of the rest is kitsch.'' But then there are takers aplenty for kitsch.
Playing Second Flute
One legend has it that Ganesha was supposed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna. The Brahmavaivarta Purana says that Parvati performed the worship of Vishnu on the banks of the Ganga and as a reward she got a boon that she would have a son who would be the incarnation of Krishna. Interestingly, however, Krishna plays second flute to Ganesha as far as the sheer volume of work by contemporary artists goes. .
Of course, Krishna has been a popular image with modern artists. Jamini Roy painted him as a deity in veneration. Husain dwelt on his babyhood with Yashodha as mother. Manjit Bawa brought forth his playful aspects with a difference. His painting of young Krishna with a banana in hand instead of butter was one which excited the imagination of the viewers. More recently, he merges the Blue God with Ranjha, the folk hero of Punjab. But Krishna's image has not kept pace with that of Ganesha. This even when Krishna is the most interesting incarnation of Vishnu with valour, courage and a beautiful Radhika thrown in. In folk art, Ganesha is part of religious ritual and thus retains an original flavour which contemporary art has not been able to replicate. To the folk and tribal artist, the elephant-god is the lord of the forest who, if he so wills, can destroy the standing crops. So he is worshipped and more so at the time of harvest.