Worshipwrecked: Maha’s favourite is now the GaneshOTTsav

So we once more bade farewell to our beloved Ganeshji. But the welcoming shouts of ‘Ganpati Bappa aala’ soon sounded like the swinging ’50s chartbuster, ‘(Ganpati) Be Bop-pa-Lula’. There even seemed to be more dancing Ganeshas than usual, but Maharashtra’s fave deity might well have swapped his father’s serene ‘Nataraja’ pose and done a tandava. Worship was more like warship: mandals-pandals battled to have the tallest idol bedecked most extravagantly from crown to toe-ring, gaudiest décor, loudest surround sound, and even more jarring neta-mugshot posters. Naturally the biggest fight was over big-ticket sponsors, who themselves competed to feed and feed off the blessing economy. So, the lusty cry was again ‘Ganpati Bappa More-ya’. All this for a deity who needs only a simple modak, a red hibiscus, and 21 blades of durva grass.Vighnaharta surely had problems negotiating the obstacles to genuine devotion. He must have even lost his head. You could almost hear him grumble, ‘It’s majha utsav, na, but it has become crass entertainment for my so-called celebrants.’Then Ashtavinayak listed his eight grievances:l My Mahadev-pita was covered only with ash but I have to be covered by insurance – for all my jewellery rivalling an AA-grade wedding.l Do you think my blessings are weighed against the gold chains you offer? How thick can you be?’l Bappa re, you seriously expect me to stomach sugar-free modak?l At the raja of pandals, aarti was full chamak-dhamak Bollywood. Laser-vazer, dry-ice smoke machines, drones raining confetti, a chorus in coordinated costumes, clapping theatrically for the cameras, with no shred of sincere ‘Namo-namaha’.l Crowds jostled as much for film-star darshan.l VIP queues for Tilak’s sarvajanik Ganeshotsav.l And deejay-sheejays at visarjan. They were dhoom machaoing in their own dhoon. CM tried banning them, but who will decibel the voter-catch?l Some of the speaker stacks towered higher than my mangal-murti, thumping out the racket for miles.Seemed like the massed shout asking me to return quickly next year, Pudhchya varshi laukarya, was more Pudhchya varshi louder-karu-ya!Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author's own.