The Ganesha Immersion

Abhi did not get to see this part of the festival, he was fast asleep. After the pooja, the idol is to be submerged in water like I said in the previous post. There are 3 lakes in Bangalore where you can go to do this. I wanted to go for sure and I must say I have never experienced anything like it. Govi made sure I was able to go with him and two other guys from the building to the closest lake to immerse the Ganesha (they had one big one from the pictures before and a lot of small ones). So, they put it in the back of the car and as we drove out all the kids and some others followed the car out and were chanting back and forth about Ganesha (I am not sure what but it was very joyful). We drove there with the hatch open so the idol would be on view. On the way you could see trucks with huge idols in the back with loads of people in there having a big party heading to the immersion. I saw and motorcycle pass with a dad and his two kids taking their Ganesha and they were chanting as well on the way.

Finally, we arrived through the traffic to the road right in front of the lake. There were SO many people I was getting very nervous. I am not that great is big, chaotic crowds. People were doing poojas right the sidewalk to idols one after the other with fires and firecrackers...it was totally crazy!! So we got out and got in line to head to the part of the lake that was designated for immersion. It took us about 30 minutes to walk through. It was actually quite organized, despite the mass of people and happenings. I can hardly even describe it, you have to experience it. In line everyone had their idols some tiny up to the huge ones being carried by multiple people. Of course, I was one interesting attraction for everyone as I was the only westerner in sight and I was taking photos and videos. So, finally we made it to the water and there were "divers" who you give your idol to and they immerse it for (at a cost of course). It reminded me of when someone gets baptised in a lake. The Ganeshas were dipped up and down a few times then let go to sink and dissolve into the lake.

The crowd on the way in...


Govi with the Gaesha idol from our building just before immersion...


One huge idol being brought in by a tractor...


It was hard to get good pictures of immersion because of the crowd and it was dark with very bright lights. You can see one huge idol being immersed in this picture, about the best one I got...


The immersion of the idol completes the festival. This part signifies that Lord Ganesha takes away all the misfortunes and will return again next year. Another way I heard it was the immersion is like Ganesha going home but will return next year for the festival.

It was a lot of fun. This is kind of a condensed description of it all but you get the idea.