DadiBaa pointed out that Ganapatiji needed to have earrings, so holes were made in the ears. She then started smoothening the idol with her hands. DadiBaa offered a better solution and handed her a folded matchbox cover. This made it easier and faster. Mushak was made, and Bappa was ready. They both gawked at the amazingly real idol that gave off a very centered energy vibration, drawing you towards it. Seeing him sit like a mature, magnificent Bappa was imparting the knowledge of a lifetime; Jaanbai felt the first set of goosebumps arrive.

Just then, Krishna walked in with two thaalis of lunch for her and Jaanbai. She hadn’t expected DadiBaa to be there; she had just assumed that Jaanbai would be working on the idol and wouldn’t have had time to make lunch. They all smiled and greeted each other. Soon, more ladies joined them, each bringing something or the other in terms of food items. Jaanbai was elated at the scene. She thought Bappa was already bringing everyone together. The magic of Ganapati Bappa was spreading.

They all marveled at the murti and began discussing decoration ideas. Some suggested that Jaanbai be Bappa’s host, while others suggested that Bappa be hosted at the village temple so he could be sarvajanic without causing chaos in anyone’s home. Later, they all agreed on performing Bappa’s sthapna at the village padar so everyone, even passersby, could pray at his pandal. He would have a temple of sorts for him.

Leaving Ganapati Bappa in a safe corner to dry, the ladies cleaned the room and tidied up the mess. They quickly sat down to eat. It was all merriment as it was. Then they got down to decorations. The ladies asked a few men to fetch equally sized wooden sticks. The first four sticks were tied together to make a square frame, and the same was done for the other set. Solid orange, red, and yellow cloth pieces were wrapped around these frames. One frame was to be used as a pichwai for Bappa, and the other was to serve as a chhatra for him. Pastel-colored cloth strips were to be hung decoratively on the tree at the padar to create an aesthetic look. The square frames would be adorned with fresh flower sars/linings at equal spaces, with beaded sars between them. Fairy lights on the tree would add to the whole scene. With that sorted, the mandli got down to discussing the samagri list to offer to Bappa. They decided on the items, the schedules, etc., even down to their periods. The lady who would have her periods would help in whatever way she could but rest while others worked on her behalf. They swore one thing: no one would be treated as untouchable due to the natural and divine process of menstruation. No one would object to this. 

Finally, they dispersed for the day and gave the men the lists of things to be procured for the entire Utsav. The kids were all juiced up with excitement as they had their own plan for dancing for Bappa every night during the Utsav. The aartis and songs were decided too. There was a lot to be done.

In the evening, the ladies were busy making sweets at their homes while Jaanbai was free after preparing her famous Kaju Mesub for Ganapati Bappa’s bhog. She went to the temple for the evening aarti. The temple looked mystical, lit only by diyas and fragrant thanks to the incense. The old temple’s archway had Ganapati Bappa at the center of the recess. Someone had placed a marigold flower there. She remembered how in Kashi Rahasyam it was mentioned that Ganapati Bappa had convinced the dharm-yukt King Divodas to have all the gods, especially Shiv Shakti, reside in Kashi. He gave him the elixir of knowledge in the form of a jyotish acharya. He resides there as well. He’s the one you have to prove your worth to first.

The aarti began. She had a realization, as if Ganapatiji stands at the starting point of various paths, like he’s the common and foremost god in any path. Whether you’re a Shiv follower, a Shakti follower, or a Vaishnav panthi, Ganapati is the neutral god who has equal importance in each of the paths. He doesn’t necessarily appeal to you to choose one path—actually, none of the gods do. People do, but Ganapati Ji stays and keeps you neutral. Perhaps that is why visionary leaders chose his festival as a means to unify the people of India during various eras of oppression.

The aarti reminded her of how amazing the Marathi Ganapati aarti is. It always managed to give her goosebumps. Tomorrow was going to be a hectic day.

Jaanbai rose early the next morning. She was filled with child-like excitement and rushed to Bappa to see that he was all ready and dry. She freshened up, had her breakfast, got ready, and went to the temple. She wanted a paramarsh on something important. She knew she’d bump into Krishna or DadiBaa. She entered the temple and, sure enough, both of them were there. Jaanbai prayed, and when she got out, she found them waiting for her.

“Jai Shree Krushn,” they all greeted each other. The three of them went straight to Jaanbai’s home and went directly to Bappa.

“Do we color him or not is the question,” Jaanbai said without looking at them.

“Color!” Jaanbai heard five voices instead of two. She turned back to find Mukhimaa, Nandini, and her daughter Reva standing there. They came near Bappa and took dukhna of him; it’s a ladies’ tradition. Jaanbai had colored her previous Ganapatiji’s idol with organic substances like gram flour, turmeric, and hibiscus powder to get the perfect skin shade, and the ladies loved the idea. Everyone set out to get the other pending tasks done for tomorrow.

The coating liquid was ready now, so Jaanbai applied one coat on Bappa’s idol and let it dry.

The ladies arrived once more with their materials and decided to work near Bappa. They had already formed an attachment to him and started making flower garlands.

“Tell us some stories, Jaanbai, while we do these chores,” Mukhimaa requested.

“Sure, I’ll start with something I’ve been wondering about. You know, Ganpatiji was originally just a leader of the Ganas. When Maa Parvati created Ganapatiji from her body’s dirt, she only wanted a son who’d be as obedient to her as the other Ganas were to Shivji. The status he has now was achieved due to two things. One, he obeyed and followed his mother’s orders and kept his word no matter the circumstances. Two, he paid a price in the form of his head. Only then did he rise in importance; he proved his worth,” Jaanbai paused for effect.

“Do you know, Shani Maharaj took the really nasty discredit of being the reason for Ganapatiji’s head getting cut by Shivji? It is said that due to Shani Maharaj’s vakra drishti, Ganapatiji got his head cut, but the fact is it was bound to happen. The real fact is that everything and every being in this world is formed by the fusion of Shiv and Shakti. Neither absolute Shakti tatva nor absolute Shiv tatva can exist alone in this world. Thus, Ganapatiji, who was made of only Shakti tatva, would have created a huge imbalance, as there was no Shiv tatva in him to balance the Shakti tatva. Therefore, Shivji beheading him, then attaching another head and giving him rebirth through his powers, meant he introduced the Shiv tatva into him. It had to be a very important part of his body because both tatvas had to have equal contribution. He is, in a way, the first-ever absolute fusion of Shakti and Shiv. Brain versus heart was born twice, and that is why he is the god we know and revere.

What I find interesting is that our gods gave us such advanced knowledge that we knew brain transplants were possible. And another point is that Ganapatiji being the first being made of the absolute fusion of female and male is what makes him relatable to us. He needed both his parents to exist. He is easy to pray to, as, again, he doesn’t give you any labels. His life’s trajectory is somewhat similar to humans in that he proved his worth. He didn’t have a destined partner like Shakti, Shiv, or Vishnu tatvas. He is Ganapati who journeyed to being Ganesh, showing us along the way how an ideal human should behave. That we can rise above our demons and, with intelligence, honesty, strategy, and wit, invite Riddhi, Siddhi, Shubh, and Labh to reside in our homes. We too have what it takes to understand and inculcate our scriptures, be revered by people, and perhaps that’s why the whole world celebrates him during these ten days. He is like our own kind.”

“You know what I wonder? We’ve seen that Ganapatiji broke his tusk while writing the Mahabharat. One story says that he took Durvasa Muni’s prahaar on his tusk. So did the tusk regrow, or what? We know him to be ekdanta, which means he only broke one tusk. What’s the matter there?” chimed in Reva. She had just watched Bal Ganesh today.

Jaanbai smiled at her curiosity but honestly didn’t know what to say. DadiBaa came to her rescue, saying that it doesn’t matter about the details, but rather the feats Ganu Bappa had achieved.

Jaanbai asked her question to DadiBaa too.

“It is said that Devi-Devtas curse each other to be born as humans on Prithvilok, but it is also said that the Devi-Devtas love Mrityulok because only humans are capable of achieving moksha, and thus they want to attain that state. So which is it?”

DadiBaa smiled, just as Jaanbai had when Reva asked her question. “Ae toh have ae j jaane dikra.”

The second coat of color was now applied to Bappa. It was all coming together beautifully. She remembered how, the first time around, her coating had gone wrong, and Ganu Bappa’s ear and arm came off. She was about to cry then, but she managed to fix it all before Ganesh Chaturthi. The ever-confident Jaanbai was scared inside this time too. All she could do was wait and pray.