Anant Chaturdashi 2022: 'I remember dancing to the beat of dhol and tasha till my feet hurt'

"The most significant difference in celebrating Ganeshotsav abroad is that it becomes friends and family event (like thanksgiving) more than a community festival," says Akanksha Narode, a public policy professional and an AI researcher. As someone who has grown up celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, in recent years Narode has managed to bring in a slice of the festive joy to her rented apartment in Singapore by hosting a Maharashtrian-style lunch and dinner for her friends abroad.

"I inundate my foreign friends with stories of extravagant celebrations that happen in Mumbai. I also nudge them to plan a visit to Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturthi to get a first-hand experience of the magical community spirit floating in the air in the maximum city during this time," she adds.

In the western part of the world, Harsh Chheda, a cloud engineer in the United States of America, adheres to the ritual of decorating his house for welcoming Lord Ganesha and organising customary prayers or aarti at a convenient time for his friends and acquaintances to attend.
"We go live on social media as well so that no one misses out on the darshan during the aarti. We also cook as much as we can of course," says Chheda, who has been celebrating the festival there for five years in a row.

Both Narode and Chheda share a mutual feeling of nostalgia during this time of the year. Mumbaikars at heart, they yearn to live and feel the festive spirit of their own city; just like the good old days when they lived here. This longing is common among Mumbaikars residing in other parts of India too.

Rinkita Gurav, a wildlife conservationist with World Wildlife Fund India who now stays in Uttarakhand, misses the social gatherings and aarti at everyone's house in Mumbai during the festival. This is one of those experiences she believes is specific only to Maharashtra and that one can never witness the same in north India.

Relishing modaks and cherishing family's presence

"I terribly miss making steamed modaks and eating leafy vegetable curry made for Rishi Panchami. I miss my mother, her chide and our conversations," says Mannat More from Bangalore, for whom the festival was one of the reasons her family could spend quality time together. A non-believer, More also enjoyed helping her uncle and aunt at decorating ‘Ganpati aras', while adhering to eco-friendly methods.

Akanksha Narode's Ganesha idol in Singapore; modaks at her home. Image credit: Akanksha Narode

Steaming ukadiche modaks define the taste and flavour of the Ganpati festival in Mumbai. An unmissable sweet dish made in authentic Maharashtrian style, it is a major nostalgia-inducing element of the festivities for all the people this writer spoke to, so much so that for Gurav, having modaks not made by her sister and mother just doesn't match the same level of warmth. As Narode puts it, "It is a fine combination of simplicity and elegance, which I think is still underrated in the rest of the world."

In addition to relishing traditional food with family and friends, going pandal-hopping is another activity Mumbaikars indulge in during Ganesh Chaturthi. Gurav misses visiting various pandals to catch a glimpse of main idols in the city, including Lalbaugcha Raja with friends and cousins.

Missing the community revelry

Majorly a community festival, the city shines differently during Ganesh Chaturthi. Streets buzzing with well-lit decorated pandals, continuous movement of people across the city and echoes of music and laughter, there is a sense of liveliness among the people too. This is the vibe most of the Mumbaikars look forward to every year and feel nostalgic about when they bid their goodbyes to their home city for work, studies or other ventures of their life.

Rinkita Gurav celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with her mother in Mumbai in 2018. Image courtesy: Rinkita Gurav

For More, who misses the vibrant atmosphere in a city where the festival is mainly a homely affair, it is the Dadar, Matunga and Crawford markets that bring back memories of frenzied shopping among the crowd prior to the festival. On the other hand, for Chheda and Narode, it is the visarjan day that captures most of the thrill and excitement.

"I remember dancing to the beat of dhol and tasha till my feet hurt and sitting on the truck, above the driver's seat to see off the community Ganesha at Juhu beach and coming back to an empty pandal while reminiscing the beautiful memories of the past ten days. I think this memory holds a special place in my heart as it taught me as a child that goodbyes could also be pleasant," says Narode.

Many miss the festivities and fun activities that bring together diverse communities across the city. Chheda believes it fosters a sense of unity among people, while Narode observes it pushes Maharashtrians to peek out of your bubble for ten days, let your hair down, and celebrate the spirit of Indians as a community with loud music and of course, some more modaks.

"I have witnessed this festival breaking walls between communities and bringing people together regardless of their socio-economic background in Mumbai. This is nearly impossible to happen abroad simply because of a lack of historical and cultural context," she adds.

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