'Ganesha Goes To Lunch'

I've been reading a great little book on my way to work over the past couple of weeks called 'Ganesha Goes To Lunch - Classics From Mystic India' by Kamla K Kapur.  I bought it a couple of years ago when I saw the 'Garden and Cosmos' exhibition at The British Museum and finally decided it was the right time to read it and I'm so pleased I did.

At the risk of offending any Hindus reading this blog, it's a re-telling of traditional stories, myths and legends from India and, probably, religious parables and tales. And, like parables from all faiths, they generally have a religious or moral tone and ending.  Of course, these deal with the vast Hindu pantheon of gods and deities, so probably aren't what you'd expect.  Hindu deities range from revelling in the austere to burning in the passion of sex and whatever else you fancy.  It's all part of life, after all.

There are 24 tales, all illustrated with lovely drawings, divided by the triumvirate godhead of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, followed by tales of Krishna, and stories from The Ramayama and from The Mahabharata, so it covers all the main areas of Hindu belief.  I first read a version of The Ramayana when I was at junior school and it captured my imagination. It was a delight to see, inside the Grand Palace and Temple in Bangkok a couple of decades later, wall frescoes telling the whole tale, with Rama and Sita and wily Hanuman and I delighted that I could 'read' quite a lot of it as it sparked memories.

Some of my favourite stories are:

• 'Ganesha Goes To Lunch' in which Lord Ganesha accepts a luncheon invite in place of his mother, Parvati, and literally eats his host out of house and home;
• 'The Bird Who Fought War' in which a little bird seeks to persuade Lord Krishna to stop the great war of The Mahabharata and Krishna's first arrow severs a bell on an elephant's neck to safely cover the bird's nest;
• 'The Toad Who Didn't Croak' who is accidentally killed by Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu) which ends with the words from the toad, 'There's only one thing sweeter than dying by Rama's hand... To die in Rama's hands.'

It's a lovely book, very thoughtful and thought-provoking.  I'm pleased to have bought it and to have (finally) read it.