God Is In The Detail: Totems Of Vinayak Chaturthi In South India

Exploring the mythology and the undercurrent of colour and tradition that runs through the worship of Ganesha.

Pillayar (The Son), as he is fondly called in Tamil Nadu, is by far the most mutable, malleable deity. No other God can carry off a gun-toting, guitar-playing, goggle-wearing sculpture with such aplomb and natural ease.

Vinayaka Chaturthi (Ganesh Chaturthi) is very similar across the country. Pandals are erected, deities are hailed, loud item numbers blare (with occasional devotional music), idols are immersed after days of festivities, and articles about polluted water bodies ensue.

But God is in the details — specifically in the way he is represented in South India. From extremely complex sculptures made with mathematical and esoteric perfection, to beautifully basic representations, Lord Shiva’s son is everywhere and in everything in South India.

Here are some totems of the Elephant headed God, the mythology and the undercurrent of colour and tradition that runs through them all:

Kottu and Karnam

Rap your head five times with your knuckles, then hold your left ear with your right arm and vice versa, and do three or five sit-ups. This is how everyone in South India pays obeisance to Ganesha. Some will also slap their cheeks a couple of times, for good measure.

The story goes that Vinayaka, in the guise of a boy, kicks sage Agastya’s Kamandalu (brass water pot), thereby spilling the water, which becomes the Kaveri River. When the enraged sage comes to rap him on the head, Vinayaka reveals himself. The sage then asks this boon of Vinayaka – “whosoever raps their head with their knuckles (in atonement for the misdeed I was to commit), let them receive your grace.”

Turmeric Cone/Pyramid

Turmeric (haldi) is a big deal in the South. It breaches demographics, caste and even religion in its use as a spice and a traditional antiseptic for women (makes your skin glow, stops hair growth and gets rid of those pimples). It is equally universal and indispensable in worship. The turmeric cone Vinayaka oversees all rituals in South India.

(Interesting side note on turmeric: In the temples of South India, the deities – often rough-hewn stones in a rectangular or oval shape – are smeared with turmeric and vermillion. It’s a riot of colour, reminiscent of Holi. Ethnographers, who’ve studied India’s nomadic tribes, believe that it represents ancient customs of animal sacrifice, which then gave way to more formal modes of worship, where blood and bile were replaced with turmeric and vermillion.)

Pillayar Suzhi (Vinayaka’s Circle)

In the South, this circle, with a dot at the centre symbolises Vinayaka, the Lord of all beginnings. You will find the circle in various sizes and varying degrees of circle-ness (from seemingly perfect to only seemingly a circle) on the top centre of the first page of answer sheets, office documents, love letters and even hand-written legal documents. Even when no writing is involved, there are many who draw the circle and dot in the air, before getting on their motorbikes and riding off to work, usually without wearing a helmet.

The Pillayar Suzhi makes for a great story about the circle of life, or focus and harmony, in case anyone asks.

So here’s to brilliant, auspicious beginnings.