Ganesh Chaturthi has passed, but its never too late to grow with Ganesh. One of my favorite things about Indian culture is that everything has a purpose-- take Ganesh for example. Every part of his body represents a certain quality that our Rushis wanted us to embody. So what are you waiting for? Let's dive right in with this fun craft that will teach you and your kid the different qualities of Lord Ganesh.
Step 1: Print out two copies of our Ganesh template (alternatively you can flex those art skills and draw your own version of Ganesh). Color each Ganesh template, but use lighter colors on one template and darker colors on the other.
Download the Ganesh template here:
2: On the LIGHTER colored template, write the different qualities of Ganesh on the associated parts of his body. Do this on only ONE of the templates. If your kid is older you can have them write it themselves, or they can trace pre-written words. As your kid writes each word, go over what the word means and try to talk about how they can bring that specific quality into their lives. This can be a process, so you can even do one quality per day.
Forehead: વિવેક બુદ્ધિ રાખો/ vivek buddhi raakho/ develop a discriminative intellect
Ears: વધુ સાંભળો/ vadhu saambhado/ listen more
Eyes: દીર્ઘ દ્રિષ્ટિ રાખો/ dirgh drishti raakho/ have foresight
Head/Mind: મોટું વિચારો/ motu vichaaro/ think big
Long tusk: શ્રદ્ધા રાખો / shradhaa raakho/ have faith
Short tusk: જ્ઞાન/ gnana/ knowledge
Trunk: અનુકૂલનશીલ બનો / anukulanasheel bano/ be adaptable
Right hand: આશીર્વાદ મેળવો / aashirvaad medavo/ earn blessings from God
Left hand: પ્રસાદ મેળવો/ prasaad medavo/ receive prasaad from God
Stomach: સારું અને ખરાબ પચાવો/ saaru ane kharaab pachaavo/ digest both good and bad things that come your way
Mouse: વ્યાપક બનો/ vyapak bano/ be comprehensive or pervasive
Step 3: Take the DARKER colored template that you have not written on and cut out each of the individual body parts listed above. The goal here is to create a "flipbook" Ganesh- as you flip back each body part, the quality that is behind that body part will be discovered. Check out the photos below for some inspiration:
