Invoking Goddess Lakshmi during Diwali in North India
It is Diwali time and I want to share the picture of Goddess Lakshmi I took some time back. I was stunned to see it there and then. Can you guess where this picture was taken?
Hindus invoke Goddess Lakshmi during Diwali festival which goes on for five days in some parts of India, seeking wealth and prosperity. In every house, idol or picture of Goddess Lakshmi is seated centrally, decorated with jewels and flowers, lights are lit, prayers are chanted, and sweets exchanged.
Bengalis celebrate Lakshmi Puja on the Full moon day after Durga Puja, that is four days after Visarjan of Durga idols.
The festival falls on dark night of Amavsya (new moon night), as Sun enters the second course and passes Libra. As the holy Vedic hymns are chanted, simple hearts believe that Goddess Lakshmi alights on Earth. She walks through the green fields and through the bye-lanes, visits the cleanest homes and showers her blessings for prosperity.
Hindus depict Goddess Lakshmi as a very fair and beautiful lady. She is dressed in bright colored sari, has four arms, and is often shown as seated or standing on a lotus. There is a continuous stream of coins flowing from her hands. And to see all these details so finely depicted in a place where I least expected, surprised me.
Could you guess where this was painted? The picture of Goddess Lakshmi was painted on a bus carrying loads of tourists in Sukhothai, a World Heritage Site in Thailand. Great work done by the artist, who made a good study of the subject and presented it with so many details!
Hahahah.. very nice post.. Wish you a Happy Diwali
Haha, I guessed it right 🙂 People really want to invoke the blessings or Goddess Lakshmi some way or the other, right? 🙂
Happy DIwali 🙂
Very nice. Painting is amazing, I would never have guessed Thailand.
What a beautiful decoration! We indeed find awesome paintings on trucks and other vehicles in small towns. Quaint and rustic, they have their own charm. You really manage to showcase the soul of India!
Am your fan, ma’am! 🙂
That sure is amazing…proves….talent has no limitation…..
Awesome 🙂
In Thailand? Wow! Very interesting. I initially thought it could be a box 🙂 Great find on a bus. 🙂
Beautiful painting indeed!!!
Happy Diwali… and sure the Luxmi picture is really detailed
That would have been a surprising place to find the picture. I couldn’t seriously guess where the picture was taken until I scrolled down to read the full article. Nice find. Nice click. And nice painting too, whoever drew it. The face though resembles Japanese Video Games characters. Thanks for sharing
Excellent painting, nice post
What a beautiful painting! 🙂 Wish you and your family a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali!
That was wonderful painting.
Brilliant!!
very nicely done! thumbs up!
Beautiful and interesting!
Thanks for sharing, Indrani.
Lakshmi on a bus in Sikhothai… surprising!
It looks like you had a good holiday in Singapore and Thailand. Please accept my Diwali greetings Indrani, though belated.
Haooy Deepavali Indrani…Hope you had a good festival
A little bit of India everywhere ! Thanks for passing it on. hope you had a wonderful holiday
Wow, amazing that's on a bus. So beautiful. I hope you had a happy Diwali.
Thanks for the interesting history of this symbol. It is very nicely painted on the bus.
Lovely pic…Hope you had a great Diwali time.
this was indded a beautiful picture 🙂
Very colourful. And belated Diwali greetings.
Beautiful and interesting…
thank you
best wishes
Ribbon
Creativity cant get better, and you are always there to capture it!! A very happy Diwali to you and your family too!
Don't know what happened to my earlier comment! Never mind. Happy Diwali and great to see beautiful Thai Lakshmiji! Hope she brings prosperity and peace to all.
No matter the canvas, it's a beauty. Happy Diwali to you. 🙂
Looking at the first pic. I didn't know it would be on a vehicle !!
Stunning.
My comment disappeared..I hope you got it!
Beautiful painting! Loved how you described Diwali and how we celebrate it… happy Diwali to you 🙂
Beautiful!!! I like how you describe Laxmi – Happy Diwali to you Indrani
I love the kind of art work we see in India on Trucks – they paint Krishna and gopis and even cows and it's done with great detailing a joy to look at – I have only seen pictures, never seen such beautiful paintings.
nice story…. and nice pic….
You have an eye for spotting treasures in obscure places and bringing them out.
happy diwali to you all – interesting blog pic actually, for Thia's normally make the face very Thai looking, if you have noticed the Ramayana paintings out there, where even hanuman looks Thai..
Hi Indrani, here I am after another absence, much longer than I wished. But it seems yours has been even more extensive… 😉
Happy Diwali!!
Blogtrotter is still travelling in Turkey and looks forward to reading you there. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
A nice idea photograph this beauty:
I enlarged and even the details are really precious!
Thanks, the effect is enchanting and amazing where was painting!
🙂
Wishing your and your family a Happy Dewali 🙂
I was wondering at those lines across the picture. Could never guess it was on a Bus !
Wishing you a very happy Deepavali… Interesting to see that picture in a bus!
Destination Infinity
Wow!
Happy Diwali!
I NEVER would have guessed that was on a bus!! Buses around here are never that cool!
Happy Diwali to you ! may the Goddess Lakshmi look after us and we prosper :)Well painted on the bus and such a good explanation of the symbolisms.
Happy Deepavali Indrani to you and your family
That is just the most beautiful bus!
beautiful painting
interesting location
wonderful information
thanks for sharing
If you want to wander down my road I’m home.
If she only visits the cleanest houses I'd be in trouble!
It truly is a beautiful dipiction! And I can't believe it was on the side of a bus! It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful an artist some people can be.
Thanks for the little bit of history that you gave with your post. I really enjoyed it! And I learned quite a bit.
If you'd like to stop by my blog I'm at Cake Crumbs.
So that's what those images mean! Thanks for the explanation, Indrani. The festival sounds very interesting. I'd like to listen to Vedic hymns.
That was an amazing post. I loved the photo and especially the way it ended up being on the side of a vehicle and not on some sacred wall!
Our Afterschool Club will be making Diwali candle holders this week! Thanks for reminding me!
Have a happy time!
Nuts in May
An artist will paint on ANYTHING! 🙂
Wow, what a lovely painting – and yes, she does have a touch of the "exotic" from the Thai influence, I guess.
I wish you, your family and all your readers a very happy Deepavali.
Wow!
And to you, too, a Happy Diwali! What a beautiful image, and the story of the Goddess is wonderful. Thankyou!
Such a beautiful painting and a great blessing for everyone.
Is this the greatest bus ever? She is a beautiful, rich, 4-armed lady.
What an awesome way to decorate a bus. 🙂