Ganesh, The Hindu God of Possibilities

Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god of possibilities

This is Ganesh.  Ganesh (or Ganesha) is the Hindu elephant god of infinite change, ultimate compassion, and the remover of obstacles.  Ganesh in his many forms is displayed throughout the city, be it in marble, plaster, bronze, wood, concrete, plastic, paper, or sticker form.  Ganesh is the Hindu god of Mumbai, celebrated and venerated as the maker and breaker of the city, the holder of secrets, the speaker of truths, the power to make things happen-- Ganesh, multi-handed and many-versed, is the spiritual embodiment to Hinduism of power, beauty, and miracle, holding out possibilities to rich and poor alike to be better, stand taller, and become the person they so desire to be.  Every year, giant depictions of a manifest Ganesh are paraded in procession throughout the city during the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival, a reminder of stability in the sea of frenetic urban life.

Offerings, meager and grand, are prevalent throughout the city

The city of Mumbai is teaming with multiple expressions of religiosity.  From the Portuguese influences of Catholicism in the 16th century to long-held Parsi (Zoroastrian) practices and funeral pyres, the cityscape is a melting pot of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, and Buddhist archetypes.  As a cosmopolitan city Mumbai is home to what can be described as the amalgamation and summation of the collective world religions: from alternative healing methods, Ayurvedic  life principles, Kundalini energy sessions, hatha and asana yoga practices, meditative chants and singing, Muslim calls to prayer, the prayers of puja and the rosary--all echo and embellish the sounds and embodiment of the city collective.  Mumbai, like any commercial city, is a city of doing.  Unlike religious Hindu centers of the southern Indian regions, this central-western city is all about practicality: the ends justify the means, capitalism is king, and hospitality is key to successful, flourishing business.

An offering of marigolds embellishes this car

Prayer here does not mean that you are separated from the masses, a hermit in seclusion and sequestered from daily realities.  Being a religious practitioner here implies the embodiment of life itself: to breathe, speak, and engage the surroundings with vigor and surety.  To celebrate in community.  To pray for personal well-being.  To dream of familial betterment.  It is a hope, a prayer, a call, to be something better, to do something more, to stand for something that will last into future generations and life cycles.  Rather than separating religion from life, religion is enmeshed within the messiest, grittiest, and grandest of scenarios: it is to be alive and engaged with all that is around you. 

Peppers can be used to honor certain deities or to ward off ill-intentioned onlookers

 
Every pocket, crevice, and corner has surprising elements of devotion and attentive care.  Across from a pile of trash can be a food offering to a spirit, a ribbon wrapped around a tree trunk, an offering in a flower branch, a reminder of something, somewhere, that is sacred...

But, and this is a big but--
this reverence is not separate (or sacrosanct) in a way that delimits or isolates life practices from the day to day grind.  Sacred and mundane, profound and preposterous, pragmatic and monumental all combine in a way that I can only describe as melodious, intersecting harmony:
                                          congruous, multifarious, and utterly, tangibly real.

Market vendors in the early morning: the fresh vegetables look mouth-watering!

                                                      Thanks for reading!  Much love, c.