Puja

(Sorry, it’s been more than a week since I wrote a blog post but I haven’t had internet connection and I’ve been a little busy. Sorry again.)

I’ve been in India for a month (I arrived on the 24th of August and stayed in Chennai for five days with my dad) and one of the most memorable experience so far was participating in Puja(h).

Puja is a ritual carried out by Hindus; they pray to Ganesh, the elephant god, for the goodwill of their family and for the rest of the year. The period of time when theses pujas are performed is called ‘Ganesh Chaturthi.’ It usually lasts for 3 to 9 days, depending on the family’s preference. The official date for the beginning of Ganesh Chaturthi is September 3rd, and it ends on the 12th. Interesting fact about Ganesh Chaturthi was that it’s celebrated only in odd days – maybe there are some myths considering even and odd numbers. (FYI: it was five days for my family.) I’m currently living with a Hindu family so it was natural for me to be a part of puja. In fact, I participated twice.

So, this is how it goes. The process is long and complicated; in addition, I did it more than a week ago so I’m not sure if my puja memory has been retained well or not. First, Hindu women read some kind of script (since the regional language here is Telugu, they read the Telugu version; my host family didn’t understand what they were saying but they had a general idea of what it was about.) for twenty minutes or so. Then the priest, or Brahmin, comes to perform the rituals. He carries on with the script and people listen attentively with two hands together (it’s just like praying in a Christian way, except for the fact that they hold their hands close to their mouth.) After reading the first part of the script the Brahmin gives out flowers or rice to everyone; people hold them inside their hands with the same position and wish for what they want. The priest then takes flowers/rice away (this part was actually confusing for me because once I got rice and the second time I got a flower. When I got rice the priest told me to throw it at Ganesh and wish for whatever I want. However, when I got a flower he just took it away from me.) and asks one of the participants to break a coconut; its juice is poured into a cup for the later use. The priest blesses everyone with coconut juice and rice – he sprinkles them on people’s head and they touch the brahmin’s legs/feet. Touching brahmins’ legs or feet is considered to be an act of respect/holiness. Everyone ends puja by sharing certain types of food – some sweets, rice that is like rice pilaf, chickpeas, etc.

The best part of Ganesh Chaturthi, in my opinion, was when people bring Ganesh statues to the beach. They put the statues on huge trucks and play loud music. People come out to dance and party; I really wanted to go out and take a look at the “party” closely but my host family didn’t allow me.

There were not many women outside and they were worried that people might ask me to be a part of the "dance." So I didn't go out but took some videos: