Happy Ganesh Day!

There are literally thousands of gods and goddesses in the Hindu religion - and while I'm not Hindu I do still appreciate the interesting iconography as well as the stories behind the belief system about the many personalities. It's something akin to the old Greek system of deities. My personal favorite (mainly because he looks cool and has good energy) is Ganesh.

The story goes that Ganesh was born to Shiva and the Hindu Divine Mother Parvati. There was some serious dysfunction in the family though and Shiva in a fit of jealous rage cut off little Ganesh's head. Later Shiva felt bad for having done so and went ahead and atoned for the decapitation by filling the space with an elephant head.
Ganesh is considered to be the bringer of good fortune, removing all obstacles and ensuring success in human endeavors.

Today, all over India, the festival of Ganesh is celebrated. For weeks prior, families have purchased large garishly painted clay statues of Ganesh for the sole purpose of throwing them into various bodies of water in celebration.
Tonight, as we made our way slowly through the horrendously heavy traffic, passing temples and lakes, throngs of people could be seen gathering, statues in hand, banging drums and singing and chanting - ready to toss their own Ganesh into the water.
It was only six months ago the lake near our house was excavated to remove the tons of last year's broken pottery...and here they go again.

From India wishing everyone, Hindu or otherwise, a happy Ganesh day.