Anita Nathwani:
The Indian-painted alabaster figure of Ganesh sits in the World Cultures gallery at the RAMM in Exeter. It was collected by Sir John Budd Phear of Exmouth, who served as a high court judge in Bengal from 1864 to 1876. It was donated to the RAMM in 1912 by his family.
There is much about this object that we do not know: for example, where it was made, or indeed who made it. It was collected during the time of empire and colonialism, when often objects were merely collected without knowing how they were used.
But today we know that there is much more to Ganesh than this museum record presents.
Sandhya Dave:
I’m just wondering if you know who this is?
Speaker 3:
It's one of the Indian gods.
Sandhya Dave:
Fantastic.
Speaker 3:
But I don't know the name.
Sandhya Dave:
No, fantastic.
Speaker 4:
I recognise it.
Sandhya Dave:
Yeah? Great.
Speaker 4:
But I don't know exactly.
Sandhya Dave:
Who it is? Where do you think it might come from?
Speaker 4:
Is it some kind of culture?
Speaker 5:
I think Ganesh?
Sandhya Dave:
Ganesh, yeah! Fantastic.
Speaker 7:
As a triphalary god of success, of wealth and so on. I don't know a lot more about Ganesh.
Sandhya Dave:
Yeah, lovely, thank you. And what do you know about Ganesh? Any snippets of—
Speaker 8:
Nothing, really.
Sandhya Dave:
Nothing at all?
Speaker 8:
Nothing.
Sandhya Dave:
Okay.
Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, who once was called Vinayak. As you can see, he's got four arms, and in some of his arms he's carrying different things.
And he has an elephant's head who has big ears, and they tell us to keep listening, to keep listening to everything that we hear and keep our ears open. And he has small eyes, which tell us to be keen observers, to microscopically look at life with keen and discerning eyes. And he has a big belly, lovely round belly, so that we can digest and hold all the information that the world and life throws at us.
And you might notice that he's got a serpent around him as well, a serpent that tells us that life sometimes throws things that are not very tasty, that can be unpleasant, but actually we have to learn to absorb those things, learn to work with those things in our lives. And hence, he's the remover of obstacles.
There are three main male gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. And Shiva is married to Parvati, and they live in the Himalayas, and they have a son, a son called Ganesh, and he's the elephant-headed god.
The story of how Ganesh got his elephant head. And so Parvati created herself a son called Vinayak, because Shiva goes away for long stretches of time, travelling, and she's created him out of herself and the earth, and she's breathed life into him.
And one day, she goes to have a bath and she asks Vinayak to stand guard at the door. Of course, Shiva, his father, unbeknown to Vinayak or Shiva, comes home that day. And no matter what Shiva said, Vinayak doesn't let him pass because his mother has given instructions not to let anyone pass.
And so, Shiva, one of the most important gods in Hinduism, gets angrier and angrier and angrier because this little boy is blocking his path. And in his anger, in a rash moment, he beheads Vinayak, his son.
Parvati comes out, hearing the commotion. She sees that her son is dead, their son is dead, and she cries out: ‘[speaking in a different language] Oh my God! – What have you done? You have killed our son!’ And she says to Shiva, ‘I will never speak to you again, unless you bring this boy back to life. And that he is given an important place amongst the gods.’
So Shiva says, ‘Of course, please forgive me, Parvati.’ And he goes off into the forest looking for the first animal that he can find, and he finds a mother and a baby elephant. And he prays to the mother elephant for forgiveness, and takes the head of the baby elephant. And he brings it back, and puts it on the head of Vinayak, and brings the boy back to life. And from that day on, giving him his name and one of his many names, Ganesh.
And from that day onwards, all Hindus would always worship Ganesh, the god who removes obstacles, difficulties, from your life. We pray to him if we have an exam, or if we bought a new house and we want to bless a good life in that house. Or perhaps before people get married, the first thing that they do will be a Ganesh puja.
And so that is how Ganesh, Ganpati Bappa, Gajanan, got his name and his head of an elephant.
Ravindra J. Nathwani:
My father bought it from India and he's been praying it, and it has been in the family for last about 50 years. And when my father passed away in 2003, it was passed on to me. And it is invoked Ganesh, and we call it Vighnaharta. In Sanskrit, it's called Prana Pratishtha, which is a ceremony to bring a sort of statue alive, to the life, and that's why it is a living god for us in the family.
MUSIC:
[Ganesh puja performed in a different language].
Ravindra J. Nathwani:
Five lamps represents the elements of the human body, what it's made of, which is fire, earth, water, air and ether. And we submit ourselves to the Lord Ganesha and wish that he remove all the obstacles from our path and give us the wisdom to be happy.
MUSIC:
[Singing in a different language].
Ravindra J. Nathwani:
Whenever there's a wedding ceremony, Ganesh is going to be first. And on all the wedding cards and everything, there's an emblem of Ganesh displayed for good luck. So, that is the importance of deity Ganesh for all the people around the world. God bless everybody.
[Speaking in a different language].
Offer some prasada.
And finally, I do say farewell to our god Ganesh and apologise for any mistakes I've made in welcoming him or to recite any prayers. And he's big-hearted, and he always forgives his devotees and children. So god Ganesh, I pray to you, and I beg you that if I made any mistakes, please forgive me, and accept my humble prayer as just a gesture of a child of yours.
Anita Nathwani:
As part of the Telling Our Stories project, the Hindu community of Exeter have offered the RAMM to present these new interpretations to their permanent collections.
