Today, for Ganesh Chaturthi, I’m going to introduce you my two little Ganeshes who are on my fireplace mantelpiece!
My ceramic Ganesh…the mouse is a catnip!
First, this is my ceramic Ganesha. I bought it in Jaipur, in Prime Ramada Hotel. There were several shops where items were not too expensive. About 6 euros for my lovely elephant-god! We were coming from a great but also disappointing day. Our guide had dragged us along to the most horrible sham-shops for tourists where you can buy a lovely polyester sari for only 30 euros!
This little Ganesha really cheered me up and now, he watches the house and stays with my cat when I’m away, – No, I’m not gaga, why?
My second Ganesh is a kind of doodah to hang at your car mirror. He is cute and funny. I bought it on Ebay for a few euros. He must have thousands and thousands of brothers like him but for me, he is unique, and I’m going to tell you why!
Last Summer, my Hindi teacher gave a series of courses where the students could practise
My tiny cuddly Ganesh and his touch of kumkum…
Hindi and learn more about the Indian culture. I had chosen the lesson about the song called Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva. After studying the sanskrit song and after singing along, we had a pooja. Our teacher Kavita, – who is really sweet, I’ll talk to you about her one day because she really deserves it – had brought everything we needed on a plate. Each of us had taken a representation of Ganesha. I had my Ganesh fluff. So during the Pooja, Kavita drew a dot of vermilion on our foreheads but also on every Ganesh representation in the room. That’s why if you really look at the photo carefully you can see the stain of kum-kum on the little puppet’s forehead, just next to the red pearl. He also had a piece of ladoo to eat, and so did we! It was funny, it reminded me of little girls who play with dolls but now, it is as if my Ganesh soft-toy had been blessed and I keep it preciously.
I’m not Hindu, I’ve already told you this but I love religions. They’re really interesting and essential in every country’s culture. So, in honour of India, I sometimes light my favourite vanilla candle among all my little Indian knick-knacks and my heart is warm.
The following piece of music is the song we learned in Kavita’s class. I could sing it then, but now…
Message to India
A Message To India 
I like your blog on India. and it is content
Ton blog est vraiment très joli et interessant! félicitations… je ne savais pas qu’on avait des parades indiennes à Paris! Superbe de voir Ganesha là bas…
Hello! Merci pour ton message! Je crois même qu’il y a un défilé en l’honneur de Krishna au mois de juin vers Châtelet, il me semble. C’est toujours une ambiance très sympa, il faut y aller au moins une fois, c’est très dépaysant!