Ganpati Bappa Everywhere!

Quite possibly the most beloved God in the Hindu pantheon, Ganesha or as we like to call him in Mumbai, Ganpati Bappa is sukhakarta, dukhaharta and vighnaharta across religions — enjoying pan-Indian popularity among masses and classes alike. His presence finds expression in the Indian creative space without a doubt —  several Bollywood movies and songs is a testament to that. But his reach doesn’t just stop there — spilling over to comic books and graphic novels as well.

And while we’re a billion-strong throng, the genial elephant God is slowly making his way into pop culture and public imagination, internationally as well. Don’t believe us? Read on...

Telly tales
The Netflix series Sense8, created by The Wachowski siblings, out earlier this year, made Tina Desai (who plays Kala) an international name. And her conversations with her God, Ganesha in the local temple became a topic of discussion. The deity became like a friend and a confidante and that’s also how some of his devotees see him. Several viewers saw this inclusion of the god-devotee relationship as cultural appropriation, while most felt that it could do with less stereotyping and a more studied and realistic approach at depicting Indian culture. But there’s no denying that the god has a regular presence on the show, with the opening credits (which depict a visarjan) making sure of that.

Then there was the crowd-favourite Supernaturals, which took their limited understanding or research (or the lack of it) of other mythologies to the extreme. io9.com even called the episode Hammer Of The Gods ‘A Rare Supernatural Episode That Should Not Have Been Made’. 

The episode in question appears in the series’ fifth season — had several gods of different faiths facing off against Lucifer (aka the fallen angel/ The Devil). The likes of Odin and Mercury are seen in the same space as Kali and Ganesha. I’m not even getting into the plot of the episode, it’s that controversial. Google it. Strangely enough, instead of hiring an Indian character to play the part, Ganesha is played by an African American character who turns into an elephant at will.  Curiouser and curiouser....

Books and visuals
Pixar Animation picking supervising animator/storyboard artist Sanjay Patel to depict his relationship with his gods through the eyes of a child, was a smart decision. It will most likely open the West’s eyes to seeing these deities from an Indian perspective. The upcoming short film, titled Sanjay’s Super Friends, supposedly shows Patel’s effort to understand his father’s deeply religious life through a child’s eyes, imagined in an Avengers-like dream. And if that’s the case (we don’t know for sure yet), Ganesha should be a part of this team! Patel is also known for illustrating two children’s books Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth and The Little Book of Hindu Deities and the covers of both books feature Ganesha in a cute avatar. 

Yeh hai filmi chakkar
Playing it safe, popular sci-fi franchise Star Trek’s second installment Into The Darkness has a rather inconspicuously named crewmember called Nesh onboard the USS Enterprise. Look at the character’s face (an elephant-faced alien with one broken tusk). It’s barely a blink-and-you-miss part. But it’s there. Better to have the remover of obstacles on board, right?

In the name of art
One aspect of popular culture that Ganesha’s really touched in a big way, however, is the world of comic books and graphic novels. The DC and Marvel universes have, at varying points, featured the winsome, portly god in story arcs of mainstream characters. 

Brother Warth of the Blue Lantern Corps — an inter-galactic peacekeeping force — for one, found much popularity and even action figures were commissioned. One look at this character and you know who he’s modelled on. In order to become a Blue Lantern one must be willing to give of themselves completely to the universe. Its Power Ring does not need to be charged and doesn’t run out of power. It is fueled directly by the hope of the people they seek out to help and save. DC also had, sometime earlier, a character with the name Ganesha, who was a deity in the more traditional sense, I think. 

Marvel featured a Ganesha-like character in the She-Hulk series. Called Man-Elephant and in a later avatar, Behemoth, it features Haller, a one-time businessman who specialises in hydraulics and creats a Man-Elephant battle-suit to save lives and enable workers to survive in hostile environments. His plan to use the suit to capture She-Hulk when she was wanted as a fugitive backfired when she defeated him. Haller is put out of business eventually by Tony Stark. He later travels to Timbuktu where a blind, wise woman showed him a fragment of a gem that supposedly came from Lord Ganesha. He touches the gem and is transformed into a new being, the powerful, humanoid elephant dubbed Behemoth that possesses superhuman strength, durability and resistance to injury. And should the She-Hulk feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) someday, maybe Behemoth will be one of the first few antagonists?
Image Comics featured a Ganesha-like character in Elephantmen. Called Gabbatha, this character is a Buddhist and spiritual leader to many men, women and Elephantmen.

The ink link
Ganesha has also been a favourite with those celebs indulging in body art. While Twilight’s Ashley Greene sports a tattoo of an elephant with an Om on it, bestselling female artiste Brandy Norwood went in for an elaborate Ganesha tattoo by artist Peter Koskela. She knew the god to be the ‘remover of all obstacles”, but mistaked him for an “Egyptian god’. Her Twitter followers pointed out the mistake and she corrected herself and posted, Ganesh is actually a Hindu deity, not Egyptian :) the tattoo is gorgeous!”
Ah, all’s well that ends well, then!