Today is Ganesh Chaturti, a Hindu festival that celebrates the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Ganesha is revered as the lord of good fortune who helps devotees achieve success and overcome obstacles– physical and spiritual. Consequently, he is worshipped in many Hindu communities both inside and outside of South Asia.

I wrote this poem describing my experiences in the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, one of the largest temples to the deity. Priests offered prayers (known as aarti), burned incense, and performed other rituals to honor Ganesha. Though I am far from a devout Hindu (I rarely participate in rituals, etc.) and use religion more as a means to preserve my culture, this was an extraordinary experience and I decided to capture it in the following poem (some words and phrases are from Sanskrit, they are incantations honoring Ganesha or other names for him).

Devotees form a half-circle,

Standing shoulder to shoulder,

Looking down the amphitheater in anticipation

To the idol of Ganesha.

A crimson figure draped in garlands,

Surrounded by gold carved with razor-sharp precision.

The drum’s beat reverberates through the chamber.

Like the soloist of a concerto.

Priests offer prayers to Vinayaka, broadcasted by cameras–

Modernity infused with the ancient tradition

Of impassioned worship of Vigneshwara.

Jaya deva, jaya deva, mangala murti

Half an hour of blessings to Ganapati.

Devotees clap to the song but no one in the drums' 12/8 time,

The priests’ singing off-key, dissonance over harmony

Somehow creates a sense of elevation and devotion

To the rat-riding son of Shiva who removes obstacles in the faithful’s way,

And despite the sweltering heat, I seek and find the voice to say

Ganapati Bappa Moriya