VADODARA, INDIA, September 10, 2002: Nearly 250 Ganesh icons were damaged mysteriously at Ranchhod Rai temple near Madan Zampa here on Sunday. All of the icons prepared for Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations were on display at the temple. They all cracked within seconds of each other. The event was being largely construed as a bad omen even as scores flocked the temple to see the broken icons. The maker of the icons claimed there was no technical fault in making them, many reasoned that the “strange phenomenon” was because of the “politicization” of Lord Ganesha and the festival. However, rationalists — without having inspected the damaged icons — believe the damage might have been due to a technical fault. “An icon gets damaged because of contraction and expansion of the material used in making it,” said noted sculptor and a former member the MSU’s fine arts department, Mahendra Pandya. He did not offer an explanation as to why they cracked happened all at once.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike