The Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium of the United Nations will host a unique multimedia slideshow in New York on Thursday, showcasing Mumbai's celebrated Ganapati festival.
The Ganesh slideshow is being organised by the UN Photographic Society in association with the Tourism department of the Indian government and Arise India Foundation.
The slideshow will include at least 60 photographs shot by award-winning photographer Shana Dressler during her trip to Mumbai.
"I love the festival not only its religious aspect but all the social messages, the history, the issues that people deal with and most of all an incredible range of creativity," Dressler, whose career as a multimedia producer has spanned several continents, told rediff.com.
Dressler's interest in Ganesh began some years ago when she saw images of the deity on the walls of a New York studio where she used to take yoga lessons.
"I started studying about Lord Ganesh and the festival then and in September 2003 I went to Mumbai to see it for myself," she said.
Last year she applied for a grant from Kodak to complete the multimedia project she started in 2003. Armed with the grant she went back to Mumbai last year once again and completed her project.
Early this year, Dressler put together an exhibition of photographs of the Ganesh festival at the national Arts Club in New York.
A 1989 graduate of Vassar College, she got her photography training at the International Center of Photography, New York.
Does the image of Ganesh hold anything special for her from a visual perspective? "Not really. In fact, it could have been any other deity. But although I am not a Hindu, I have enormous respect for the religion," she explained.
"It is just that I think I am personally drawn more deeply to Ganesh, to various anecdotes and mythological stories about him," she said, adding, "Basically I think it is a personal resonance."
About 200 guests, including diplomats and UN officials, are expected to attend the slideshow that will open with a devotional dance recital by Kuchipudi dancer K A Shobha.
Rahul Sur, a former Mumbai police official, will provide history, background and context of the festival.
