"The Day I Gobbled Up Ganesha"

 

Every time I do something remotely funny or unexpected, my family bursts out laughing with the same old line: "Nee Pullayare muzhinganave daane!" (You gobbled up Lord Ganesha, didn’t you). It was a statement thrown around so often, I grew up hearing it without ever fully understanding why it followed me like a second name.

Until one day, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked my uncle: “What is with this dialogue of me eating Ganesha?”

He laughed, shook his head, and said, “You really don’t know? I thought your mom would have told you! Okay, let me tell you how you became the chosen one... quite literally.”

Flashback:

I was barely two years old. We had come to India during the festive season either Vinayaka Chaturthi or Krishna Jayanthi, not recollecting the festival. But what everyone does remember is what happened during my visit.

In any traditional Brahmin household —before preparing sweets and savories for the festival, the women would sit and first make a tiny idol of Lord Ganesha from the dough. This idol would be placed on a clean white cloth, symbolizing the start of offerings. Only after honoring Him could the actual work begin. That day, my great-grandmother the matriarch of the house was in charge. She was a strict disciplinarian, someone the grandkids feared. No one entered the kitchen without a bath. No one touched the food before offering it to God. No exceptions.

Well….maybe just one…. Me.

While she, my mom, and aunt were preparing murukku and seedai, I was crawling around curious about everything. I reached out for the dough and instead of getting the usual scolding, my great-grandmother gently stopped me.

“She’s just a baby,” she said, surprisingly tender. She went on to explain why we make offerings to God first, telling me how important it is to give before taking. I nodded earnestly going “Hmm! Hmm!” as if I truly understood every word. But then… came the moment. My great-grandmother turned away for just a second; and that was all I needed.

I crawled up to the white cloth, reached out and in one swift motion - I gobbled up the dough Ganesha.
No chewing. No hesitation. Just a happy, sacred snack. When she turned back and saw the empty spot, she froze. And then with a mix of shock, amusement and helpless devotion, she looked at the rest of the family and declared:
"Pullayareya muzhingitaa! Ippo enna naivedyam?" (She swallowed Lord Ganesha! Now what offering to him).

Since that divine accident, the story has been retold several times. Sometimes to tease me, sometimes to make guests laugh and sometimes just to mention even the strictest person did not have the heart to scold me.

On this sacred occasion of Vinayaka Chaturthi, I offer this memory as my heartfelt tribute to Lord Ganesha—the remover of obstacles, the lover of sweets and clearly the most forgiving of deities. Maybe I didn’t do the offering right back then. But maybe, in some strange way, that innocent act was accepted too. Because after all… if God resides in our hearts, maybe He didn’t mind being in my tummy for a day.

Happy Birthday, dear Ganesha !!!