Ganesha (Symbol of Our Marriage)

¨My wife is very fond of Lord Ganesha. I do not know the exact reason. But it has now become the symbol of our relation. It represents our marriage, too…We have hung a 1.5 meter tall Ganesha in our room…It looks magnificent and every time I look at it I only feel the happiness and joy..It reminds me of every single second of our life and the days we make it happier always…¨, shared Dusan (Croatia).

Professionally, he is a biologist. He is currently involved in the project based in Chitwan, Nepal. He has been in the field since the last 12 years. And, this is his third visit to Nepal. He said that Nepal is an awesome country where you feel the real air and happiness in life. The project´s target is to carry a research on five to six ; Tiger, Rhino and more.

Back in Croatia, he is the director of Institute of Biodiversity. He also lectures in the university on his free will. He plans to arrange an exchange program for the biology students between Nepal and Croatia especially. However, he states that source of funding is the main obstacles for the exchange program to function with ease. But he is positive that fund will come in time; it´s only a matter of time.

The scary part is that he enjoys working with snakes. He says, ¨People are very scare of snakes but I do not know why I just enjoy working with snakes. I do a lot of research on snakes. It is the best part of my profession…¨ His main goal to carry a research on python because it is the biggest snake in Nepal.

¨We were looking for a symbol. And that´s when we found Ganesha. Firstly, it's the symbol of our marriage. Secondly, my relation with Nepal….¨, he concluded about Ganesha.

¨Does your wife know you got Ganesha inked?¨

¨No..not really..I have not told her..She will know when I go back home..She always wanted to get a tattoo of Ganesha but now I got it first..(laughing)…she will be very surprised (laughing louder)….¨, he replied.

¨Why did you decide to ink it in Nepal?¨

¨I could print a photo and get inked back home. But it will not be a good one because it is not in our culture. The tattoo will be bad for sure…trust me.....Ganesha comes from Hindu Religion. And, Hindus know how to ink it perfectly…I got it in Nepal because Nepal is a culturally diversified and the artists know exactly how to ink Ganesha…It's in a Nepali blood so it will be really good one....I am glad I got it in Nepal and from a Nepali artists (Anuz Shahi)…It reminds me of my relationship with Nepal…¨, Dusan said.

¨How did you met your wife?¨

¨Well….We met in a party…the first time I saw her I wanted to be with her…Before she left the party I walked to her and talked to her.....I managed to get her number…I called her immediately to check if it was the right number.....and it was the right number…I asked her if we can meet the next day?……¨

I turned very curious. I felt the goosebumps. I wanted to hear their story. And, I asked him, ¨And, what did she say?¨

¨To be honest…she said yes....But I think she said it so that I do not feel bad….and did not want to leave bad impression.....That´s how girls are.....They do not want to turn down anyone and make anyone feel bad…we spoken quite often in the phone.....and we met 2 days later after the party.¨, he shared.

¨You said she came to Nepal, right?¨

¨Yes…one week before my flight I asked her if she would like to come with me to Nepal. She said yes. I felt really happy…and strange because we just met couple of weeks ago…I knew we were made for each other because we just met a couple of weeks ago and she traveled thousands of miles to be with me…she had never traveled before that…this is love, true love…¨, he replied with a big smile..

¨She came as a tourist.She is now a ranger in Croatia....Their role is above thing is that you can hardly see an army in Croatia regular professional role is very small…¨, he answered with pride.

¨What was your intention?¨

¨My intention was to be with her....that is it....I just wanted to be with her and see her and have her by my side…because I like and was in love with her…¨

They have two children now; 3 years young son and 1.5 years young daughter. He states that his wife´s happiness is his first priority. And, feels proud of his children because they make them happy always and brings surprises every day. Their children are very funny because they have so much to share…. To him there is nothing interesting than his children. And he enjoys listening his children´s daily activities …

¨Sometimes, your wife come home tired and stress out…so what do you do to lighten her up?¨

¨Ahm…I cooked food for us and brought wine, too…when we had holidays we went for hike and walked....but now our children makes us happy and forget all the work stress with their funny but interesting stories....like what they did, who they met, about their teacher,, about their classmates and so on….and we also walk in around with our children.....it is very good......amazing feeling…¨

He referred the moment they met the wild elephant funny as well as dreadful one. They were both drunk he elephant appeared right-in-front of them They had never seen an elephant before. Seeing this big monster with ghost ears and crazy eyes, they froze. They felt the biggest fear of their life. Somehow they managed to escape behind the gate.

Funny thing is that they met the same monster again. This time, they were in the river and the elephant appeared from the tall grasses. It was about 200 meters away. We and ran. But the monster was quick even though he just walked. He got too close to us. From 200 meters, it came close to 40 or 50 meters to us. We ran into forest before the center. locals had ran away because they had seen quicker. Finally, the lost their track when they entered the small dense forest.

In the end, Dusan said to me, ¨Do things that make you happy because doing so we feel satisfied and inner joy in life….¨ I felt really glad and thank him for his wonderful words. I got a big brother´s advice.

Findings:

Ganesha is also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most worshiped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Hindu worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists . Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.

Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies.