GANESH CHATURTHI

Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day Hindu festival celebrated to honour the elephant-headed God Ganesha's birthday. He is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Ganesha is known by 108 different names and is the Lord of arts and sciences and the deva of wisdom. He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies as he's considered the God of beginnings. He's widely and dearly referred to as Ganapati or Vinayaka.

There are two different versions about Ganesha's birth. One has it that Goddess Parvati created Ganesha out of dirt off her body while having a bath and set him to guard her door while she finishes her bath. Shiva who has gone out, returned at that time, but as Ganesha didn't know of him, stopped him from entering. An angry Shiva severed the head of Ganesha after a combat between the two. Parvati was enraged and Shiva promised Ganesha will live again. The devas who went in search of a head facing north of a dead person could manage only the head of an elephant. Shiva fixed the elephant's head on the child and brought him back to life.


The other legend has it that Ganesha was created by Shiva and Parvati on request of the Devas, to be a vighnakartaa (obstacle-creator) in the path of rakshasas (demonic beings), and a vighnahartaa (obstacle-averter) to help the Devas.










The festival is celebrated by families at home, by people at their places of work and in public. The public celebration involves installing clay images of Ganesha in public pandals (temporary shrines) and group worship. At home, an appropriately-sized clay image is installed and worshipped with family and friends. At the end of the festival, the idols are immersed in a large body of water such as the sea, river or a lake. The clay idols disintegrate over time in the water.

TOUXEACHEM FEST OF TALULIM

Touxeachem Fest, which translates to ‘Cucumber Feast’, is celebrated with religious fervour and age old rituals at St Anne’s or Santana Church in Telaulim. Over many generations this picturesque village in Tiswadi has attracted thousands of devotees from across the state. These devotees come to Telaulim for novenas that are held nine days prior to the feast of St Anne and Joaquim.  The feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of July every year as Grandparent’s Day, but is celebrated as Touxeachem Fest in the Goan village of Telaulim. As Grandparent’s Day it is a day dedicated to Jesus’ grandparents Joaquim and St Ann. The feast is usually celebrated on the last Sunday of July though July 26 is the actual feast day. Year 2016 happened  to be a happy coincidence, the day of the feast had fallen on a Sunday!

At Telaulim, it is not just grandparents but devotees of all ages and walks of life who come to seek blessings of the old miraculous statue and relic of St Anne that is housed in the 435-year-old church. One can witness serpentine queues on the day of the feast, which continue till evening.

The main aspect of this feast is the unusual tradition of offering cucumbers to St Anne in return for a favour. The reason behind offering cucumbers is because it is available in plenty during this season. “People come to offer two cucumbers. They lay one at the feet of St Anne and take the other one back after touching it to the statue. The cucumbers offered are then distributed to villagers, priests who come on the day of the feast and the rest are sent to neighbouring villages. People either eat it as it is or use it in salads.”

Besides the large number of devotees, one will notice many newly married couples visiting the church on the day of the feast. The couples come here to seek the blessings of St Anne, who herself was blessed with a child – Mother Mary – after forty years of barren life. According to the age old tradition, childless couples offer cucumbers and utter a petition ‘Senhora, tomai pepino, dai me menino’, which means ‘lady, take this cucumber and give me a child’. Bachelors seeking a wife in marriage offer spoons and spinsters who seek a husband offer lentils like urad dal. Many newly wedded brides offer their ‘chuddo’ (bangles) to St Anne.

While at most Goan feasts there are a large number of stalls that sell khaje (sweets), in Telaulim vendors from Ponda come a night before to set up stalls to sell cucumber.

A large number of Hindu devotees who come to celebrate the feast and pay their respects to St Anne, and while the Eucharistic celebration is going on one can see many Hindu devotees waiting for their turn to kiss the statue of St Anne.