Now that Ganesh Chaturthi is being celebrated with all pomp and grandeur all over India, in those days it was celebrated only inside homes at Southern parts of India. It was much a low key celebration confined to the temples and homes. In my childhood the clay Ganesha idols were individually hand crafted by the potter. I too used make my own Ganesha idol with clay for worshiping at home. Later on came the ready made moulds on which clay was applied and the idol was ready in minutes. Then it grew bigger and bigger with plaster of Paris idols, chemical dyes etc.. I had first experienced a big Ganesh Chaturthi procession, with huge crowds dancing with the drum beats and celebration in 1968 at Poona. It was also my first time living in Northern India. At that time I was a student of First year Diploma course in Motion Picture Photography at the Film Institute. There were quite a few festivals like Naag Panchami, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi etc which were widely celebrated.
Along with a few of my classmates I went to watch the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration and also to take some photos.R.S.Agarwal and Debu Deodhar were from Poona and were our local guides and took us around to various places.
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| One of the Floats |
Debu found a float from his area in the procession and took me also for a short ride in the celebrations and also posed with his friends for a photo. It was really a memorable experience, which rush to my mind when seeing vehicles carrying Ganesha idols pass by in front of my house, at Thiruvananthapuram !
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| With Debu Deodhar on my Right |
