Ganesh Chaturthi

Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu holiday to the God, Ganesh.  You can learn more from the Wiki link.  Some friends took us around town so we could see some of the fesitivities. 

One thing that both Bryan and I notice (and love) about Bangalore is all of the flowers!  Flowers become even more prominent during the holidays so we've enjoyed the sights and smells of some amazing flowers.  we drove by this archway that was designed out of flowers.  This is just one very large example of the intrcate work we see every day. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it was crowded once you got under the archway so we did not go inside.

 Here is Ganesh.  It is characteristic that each family buys a Ganesh statue each year for their home.  They range in size from about a foot tall to 5 feet tall and possibly larger.  They are always brightly decorated.  This one was not inside a temple so we could take a picture of it.

A group created a Ganesh sand sculpture that was made out of 6,000 kilos of sand.  It was HUGE and really neat to see.  There were many people out and about around noon, but by evening there was sure to be a big celebration with thousands of people.  We saw it when there were just hundreds, which made the crowd much more manageable.