An Offering to Ganesha

While recently walking past one of my favorite pieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Standing Ganesha from 12th Century India, I couldn't help but notice that someone had left a very generous monetary offering at the feet of this popular deity.  It was definitely odd, because over the years I have walked past this statue a multitude of times always stopping to admire it, and maybe...maybe... a few pennies would had been left at it's feet for offer.  Normally never this much money at one time.

Ganesha is believed to bestow success and abundance through his control and removal of obstacles.  Before beginning a task, often an offering is made to Ganesha.

Wondering if there was a Hindu holiday that could have coincided with the offering, or if this was standard practice, I consulted with one of the original co -founders of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace, DharmaKarmaArts, who is Hindu and also from India.


Her reaction - "It is customary to make an offering to a deity, flowers or fruits or a freshly prepared food item. If none of these items are available, then cash or coins is the next best thing. Offerings are made usually to consecrated images, not usually to a museum exhibits though."

Maybe someone didn't thoroughly understand the tradition, or maybe this was the only statue of Ganesha available to them at the time - or, maybe someone just REALLY needed an obstacle removed fast!  Whatever the case may be, I wish them much success!

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Yantras (kolam) for the Sun

Kolam (Mandala) the Sun

Navagraha kolams are yantras (tantric drawings) drawn to propitiate the planets and to invoke their blessings. These yantras for the the planets are said to originate from Soundarya Lahiri, a poem composed in praise of Devi by Sankara. Though yantras are typically etched on a copper plate, kolam is drawn in front of the home shrine using rice flour or can be drawn on paper also.

The image above is the kolam for the Sun. The line drawing is the kolam; I have added color and embellishments. Here are some significant astrological details regarding the Sun, the most important of nine grahas (planets):

Name in Sanskrit: Surya

Sign: Simha (Leo)
Day of the week: Ravivar (Sunday)

Direction: East

Season: Grishma (summer)

Nature: mildly malefic

Kaalapurusha rulership: Soul

Gender: Masculine

Father of: Yama (god of death) and Saturn (planet)

Karaka (significator): 1st and the 10th house

Exalted: Aries 10 deg; Moolatrikona sign: Leo 0-20 deg

Directional strength: 10th house

Natural friends: Jupiter, Mars and the Moon

Represents: Father, government, authority, temple

Represents (physical): Bones, heart, eyesight, head

Lordship of nakshatras (lunar mansions): Krittika, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashada

Dasa length: 6 years

Favorable in houses: 3, 6, 10 and 11

Aspects: the 7th house from itself

Yogas: budhaaditya , veshi, voshi and ubhayachari 

Represents: devotion to lord Shiva

Navagraha Kirtana: Surya murte namostuthe by Muthuswami Dikshithar

Temples: The Sun Temple at Konarak, Orissa, India

Suriyanar Koil at Thirumangalakkudi, Tamilnadu, India

Mantra to chant: Om suryaya namah

Note: You may copy the kolam for your personal use.




~ I'd like to thank Indira Govindan, DharmaKarmaArts, for sharing this wonderful post with us ~

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Enabling the Disabled Update, 2012

Indira Govindan is back with an update on some of the wonderful activities that she has been doing with the Sukriti Social Foundation - a organization founded by her sister, Sowmya Simhan, to provide activities, education, and assistance to the mentally disabled in India.  You can read our original blog post about the Foundation here.  In addition, all of the proceeds from Indira's Etsy Shop, DharmaKarmaArts, go to help further the programs.

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Children at mid-day lunch at Shri Arunodhayam

All concentration! Road Safety Poster Contest

Despite some unexpected events during this recent trip to Chennai (Dec, 2011), I managed to do two projects for the Sukriti Social Foundation: a craft workshop for special educators for mentally challenged children, and jurying a road safety poster contest. Sukriti is a non-governmental organization that I support. Founded by Sowmya Simhan (my sister), it is a  cross-disability organisation based in Chennai (Tamil Nadu, South India) that addresses key disability issues with initiatives in the areas of prevention, rehabilitation, employability and advocacy. (Sowmya too is a victim of childhood polio.) My support for Sukriti usually takes two forms: (1) donation of funds from sales from my handmade shop Dharmakarmaarts and (2) free arts and crafts workshops. (During my visit to India last year, I conducted a jewelry making workshop to a group of physically challenged young women at the Andhra Mahila Sabha.)


I. Paper Crafting Workshop: I was requested by Mr. Iyyappan, who runs a home for orphaned mentally challenged children called Shri Arunodhayam, to conduct a craft workshop for his special education teachers and care-givers. 

Good lunch and Happy Smile!

After much back-and-forth, I decided to do a paper crafting workshop for them. One of the core principles that I follow in teaching these workshops is that the tools and the materials used are economically priced and locally available and, the techniques are accessible and sensible (no burning of Tyvek paper here!). The goal is that the participants, should they choose to, be able to continue with the craft after the workshop on their own. With that in mind, I took a collection of stamps, inks, punches and papers from my own stash for use by the participants. Though my own stash was American bought, I made sure that equivalent materials are available in India. 


The workshop participants were from both sexes--all of them have vocational training in special education. None have been exposed to paper crafting tools like punches or stamps. So, it was a totally new craft experience for them. I started it small with tag decoration and then moved on to decorating book covers.  Each participant first created a blank book using the slot-and-tab method and the proceeded to decorate the cover using scrap papers, old greeting cards, cut outs etc. They were like kids in a toy store, punching and stamping away to glory. Overall, it was a very enjoyable morning.

Happy crafters!

II. Road Safety Poster Contest: It may seem strange, but the biggest contributor to childhood disability in India is not natural diseases like polio, but road accidents. So, it is not surprising that organizations such as Sukriti that focus on disability put a lot of time and effort on raising awareness about road safety among school children. In addition to road safety workshops, Sukriti also sponsors poster contests at local schools. This year almost fifty children participated in the contest and I, along with another artist, juried the contest. I was impressed by their seriousness and many of the posters were creative and accurate on facts. It was tough choosing the winners! Here are some photos of the day and the winning entries.

Road Safety Poster Contestants

Tips on Becoming an Artist

Winning Entries

If you are interested in knowing more about Sukriti, please check out its website.

Thanks for visiting.

~ Indira Govindan 

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Curry With A Twist: Green Pepper and Peanut Butter

Whenever we have an international luncheon at work, I always struggle to come up with a dish that will appeal amidst all that meaty splendor spread on the buffet table. It was when I noticed Scott, my son-in-law, eating it with relish, that it occurred to me that I should make it for this year's international luncheon. Sure enough, every one liked it, wanted the recipe and here it is.

This is an improvised version of the Goan curry that is made with homemade ground peanut and coconut paste. One day, feeling lazy, I decided to substitute peanut butter. I have not looked back since then :)
   
Ingredients

medium sized green, red bell peppers (capsicum)-- 2 or 3
medium sized red onion-- one
fresh ginger to taste
Chunky peanut butter--1-2 tablespoon
Olive oil-- 1-2 tablespoon
salt to taste
red chili powder (optional)
turmeric-- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Instructions 

1. After removing the core and the seeds chop the pepper into small chunks. Cut the onion and the ginger also into small pieces.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet; add the onions and the ginger. (Note: I have also added black mustard seeds. That is the way I cook but you do not have to.)

3. Cook till the onions turn translucent.

4. Add the chopped bell peppers, spices and the salt.

5. Cook till the peppers turn soft.

6. Add the peanut butter.

7. Mix it thoroughly into the cooked vegetables with a spatula till it is all melted and gooey.

You can eat this with nacho chips, pita bread, naan or roti. Any which way, it is finger lickin' good! ~ ~ ~ 

Thank you to Indira Govindan for sharing this delicious recipe with the Mind Body Spirit Odyssey!  Indira's wonderful artwork, Dharmakarmaarts, is available on Etsy.


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