Sunday September 8, 2024 11:45AM MST A Indian family, that immigrated to the United States in 1989, had the opportunity to share one their most meaningful celebratory days. Ganapati (pronounced Gun-ah-pa-tee) is celebrated in the Hindu Indian culture every September seventh of the year.
There’s a lot involved in the history of a Ganapati. How it developed, what happened, and who was involved, and why it is so important to the Eastern Indian culture? “It’s an offering to a Deity.” says Uday Kulkarni, a retired graduate professor from Arizona State University. “When we came to America, we wanted to be sure to continue the culture my wife and I were brought up on”.
“Ganapati is a celebration of new comings in the world, whether it be a wedding, a new job, a significant move in life. We give offerings to the Deity Lord Ganesha, we offer him adoring flowers, fruit, food, and asking him for a blessing into the new season,” says Anshula Kulkarni, daughter of Uday. “I want my son to at least know this practice and appreciate what it means so he continues to pass it on when he has his own family.”
Indian fragrances fill the room and there’s a lot of food being prepared for after the Pujah (worship and offerings) are done. One by one everyone pays their respect to the Lord Ganesha, who’s half elephant half man in the folklore of Hinduism. Clapping to an Indian song and repeating the lyrics that help deliver the meaning of the Ganapati and the culture.
“There’s a pretty big community here in Arizona, and a lot of us know each other and attend each other’s Ganapati this time of year,” says Anshula. “It’s important to us, mother would be proud that we carry this on, but it’s also for me to honor her”.
Anshula lost her mother to lung cancer in May of 2020. “It’s a reminder that I appreciate all that she has done for me and my sisters, the culture, the love, the wisdom, she says. It’s such a beautiful time of the year and each year it adds to our family and culture”.
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