Goans celebrate Chaturthi in their own unique ways

Ganesh Chaturthi is a very auspicious day for the Goan Hindu community, which celebrates it with great pomp. Every year grand dekhavas are installed in community or sarvajanik spaces, with several devotees thronging to these halls and temples, to pay their respects to their beloved Lord Ganesha. However, at the personal level several devotees steer far away from the fanfare and grandeur.here are a look at some of the interesting low key takes on the Ganesh celebrations.
A simplistic Matoli
With all the inspirations for the ‘Matoli’ around us, Anjan Prakash attempted her own for Ganesha this year. with a number of locally available produce, tied to strinhs over the idol of Ganesha, she made a rather airy Matoli for Bappa. "It was such fun creating this. Just the joy of gathering from the market and around the house - flowers, fruits, herbs, leaves, roots and whatnot -- made it a joyous exercise in play, creativity and exploration. Festivals are a way to indulge our inner child of play, I suppose. Religious or not," she says.
Just pure clay
The Chaturthi celebrations of Prabhugaonkar family at Mashem, Canacona was conducted in all its glory, with a grand matoli adorned with produce gathered from their land, and markets. However, this year the idol of Lord Ganesha was a bit different compared to the other years. "This year, we worshipped an idol entirely made of only clay. No colours, no spray paint. we wanted to give the earth the clay as we received it, without added embellishment's' says Om Prabhugaonkar.
A tribute to the sea
Visual artist Darpana, who has been making her Ganesha by handover the past several years, this year made one inspired by the sea and its treasures. "Each year, the Ganesha is made of biodegradable materials, and visarjan done in a bucket, with the water then put in the plants. This year Ganesha is made of simple atta and shells that have been there for years- either found or gifted. The mouse and modak were pebbles found on the beach."
Just quilling it!
Odelia Fernandes who makes craft objects in quilling, has made several Ganesh idols for gifts and on orders. “I researched a lot about the Lord Ganesha, before making the quilling work. I needed to include every aspect of the idol here. For this years work I took inspiration from the big ganesha idols that you see in places like Mumbai, especially that of Lalbaugcha Raja,” says the craftsperson, who took a week to make each piece.