Though an incorrigible atheist I share a love-hate relationship with Ganesha that has existed since my childhood. Even now every room in my house has a Ganesha statue , not all of them acquired by me.
In my childhood, my mother tried to make Ganesha my role model. I, at least in her opinion was a very skinny kid (Looking at photos of those days, I think I was a perfectly normal kid sizewise, at least. But my mother, to my detriment had other ideas.
She used to din into my head how Pillayar Ommachi (Pillayar is the Tamil name for Ganesha and Ommachi is kidspeak for God) had such a nice . healthy figure while I looked skinny. Every kid should follow the example of the elephant-headed lord, she kept reiterating.
And she left no stone unturned to ensure that I acquired a “healthy” ganeshish look.. My breakfast every day comprised an egg’ with dollops of honey, malt-flavoured shark liver oil and full cream milk . Lunches and dinners were laced with ghee., Deep fried snacks, big fat potato paranthas dripping with ghee , matar-paneer with the paneer fried , (do I need to repeat?,) in ghee formed frequently recurring parts of my diet, not to speak of ghee-laden (Oh I am getting bored repeating this) suji halwa..
Before you could say Om Ganeshaya Namah 108 times I acquired my mother’s idea of a healthy look and only a trunk was missing to complete my turning into a Ganesh clone. If you have seen photos of Mukesh Ambani’s kid you’will know what I mean. He is the exact replica of my childhood days.
Dad knew that my mother was taking me down a dangerous path but he didn’t want to get into an argument with momma dearest. As he knew it was a waste of time. My dear mom had very rigid, dogmatic notions about everything including health. For her healthy food was synonymous with rich food. She was totally calorie unconscious. And any questioning of her ideas was bound to lead to a serious domestic strife.
So he tried in his own way to burn the extra calories by encouraging me to participate in sports. But that was the wrong approach with a kid who preferred to sit and read a book rather than go out and play.. Finally he threw down the towel and left me to my fate.
This led to a very lopsided development. When kids of my age were reading comics, I was reading Tales from Shakespeare, Erle Stanley Gardner and P.G.Wodehouse. but while they were burning their calories with outdoor activities I was extending horizontally.
But I gradually realized that Lord Ganesha was a very bad role model . Immortals gods can afford the luxury of potbellies but not poor mortals like me. I took to brisk long walks to get rid of my tons of fat.
After marriage when my wife staged a domestic coup d’etat and took over the kitchen. My diet plan changed and with some prodding from her I joined a gym in my club Yoga, aerobics and regular workout on the treadmill and weights training helped me lose the truck tyre around my waist. So it was finally goodbye to Ganesha look.
Even now though I work out regularly in my home gym, I also go to the historic Lodhi Garden near my place regularly during weekends. The main purpose of this is not just exercise but to get what is known in my home as EEs. That is the abbreviation for educative experience.s Every time I go there, I see huge guys who could be easily mistaken for massive rolling balls from a mistance. When they near you they look as if they could even make Lord Vigneswara burn with envy as they easily beat him in the belly sweepstakes.
These guys are my EEs. By their very presence they educate me about the need to control my weight.
Even now when I get up in the morning I look at the Ganesha Idol perched on my TV before I leave for my workout. The guy is again a role model for me. This time he reminds me that I should not look like him.
Apart from my weight issue, I am also fascinated by the symbolism of Ganesha. He is part man part beast . And in his hand he holds the goad that is used to control the elephant.. His figure sends out a clear message that the means of controlling the beast in us is with us. and all we have to do is to find it. What a pity if the entire humanity had found its goad, whole lot of misfortunes ranging from rapes to wars could have been prevented.
.
But, Ganesh Chaturti has the dubious distinction of being the first Hindu festival to be turned into a public show. While this fever was prevalent in Maharashtra, it has spread to several states. Making a song and dance out of your religious belief has become the in thing now.
The most nightmarish part of it is the immersion of Ganesha idols big and small in water bodies. At a time when potable water is becoming increasingly scarce resource immersing idols looking colourful with their toxic chemical paints in rivers and seas only adds to water pollution. Before you yell at me that sea water is not potable, let me hasten to add that the toxic chemicals from the idols could endanger marine life.
And oh oh, why the hell can’t people keep their religion in their private spaces instead of poisoning our air and water and blasting our eardrums with what people like me feel is noise and the gullible oops sorry the devout feel is religious music?
An Atheist's Ganesha
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire