Oh! My Ganesha

Most-gifted God

Knowledge gets the better of wealth as Ganesha images are more in demand than those of Lakshmi, says Nirupama Dutt

The first European Embassy in Delhi to install Ganesha at its entrance was that of Ireland.
Ours is a culture of gods aplenty. But the most gifted-god remains the good old Ganesha, Ganapati or Vinayak for there are actually 1000 names for him. Gifted, of course, in ways more than one. The lovely elephant-head god with a potbelly and happily riding a mouse far too small for him is the lord of knowledge and wisdom. He is also the lord of prosperity and the symbol for anything auspicious and also the deity who presides over new beginnings.
Come Diwali and he literally becomes the most-gifted as a festival gift. In fact, it even has an edge over Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, as far as its popularity goes Images of Ganesha are wrought in gold, silver, brass, copper and what other metal one may fancy. He is moulded in crystal, sculpted in marble, cast in clay and woven in fabric. This so because he is considered the most auspicious. In fact, he has a romantic Bollywood song of yore dedicated to him: Yadi aap hamein aadesh karein to prem ka ham Shri Ganesh karein...
As the belief goes, gifting this friendly god brings good luck. K. Anuradha, a Tamilian living in Chandigarh says: "The gift of a Ganesha figurine always thrills me. I have nearly 60 Ganeshas at home. My aunt, however, has a collection of 108 for that is the most auspicious number."
Go to the google and enter Ganesha God and there are as many as 86, 143 sites available on him. And this Diwali Ganeshaonline limited is offering the god in 1000 different blessing moods. The gallery promo adds: "The idols and paintings of Ganesha of our Art Gallery are sculpted and painted by devotees of Lord Ganesha. So spread happiness in the lives of your friends and relatives by gifting them idol or painting of Lord Ganesha...and it will add to your happiness."
Interestingly, Ganesha is the most-painted god as far as the contemporary art scene goes. New Delhi has a well-known art gallery called Gallerie Ganesha. And doesn’t it do good business! Online there are as many as 35, 081 galleries selling art inspired by this benevolent son of Parvatil. Other gods like the more worshipped Rama and Krishna trail way behind.
Ask painters why they choose to paint Ganapati and the reply invariably is: "It is such an interesting form and one can play with it so well." Sounds convincing but asked city-based artist Balvinder, who has also painted Ganesha and his reply is: "The form is interesting but the real reason is that Ganesha is wanted even in art. So artists turn to him so that their works sell and they survive."

Global Ganesha
There are as many as 250 temples of Ganesha in Japan. He is known there as Kangiten who brings good fortune and happiness.
Ganesha is the presiding deity at the Silicon Valley in the USA because he is the god of knowledge and innovation.
Ancient Ganesha statues have been found in Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Boreni, Bulgaria, and Mexico and other Latin American countries.
The first European Embassy in Delhi to install Ganesha at its entrance was that of Ireland.