This Ganesha image is an ivory painting roughly 3 inches tall, done by a master craftsman in Udaipur with vegetable dyes and brushes some of which are as thin as a camel hair. I purchased this in 2006 after I spoke with the craftsman's student, who told me he wouldn't perhaps reach his master's level ever.
The place Vatapi is the heritage site of Badami today. Wikipedia states that the name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agasthya who got rid of the demons Vatapi and Ilvala. Badami (=Vatapi) was the capital of the Early Chalukyas who ruled muchof Karnataka and Andhra between the 6th and 8th centuries. "The Hamsadhwani song Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Mutthuswamy Deekshitar is in praise of the Vatapi Ganapati which is now in Tiruchenkaatankudi near Tanjavur. In 7thcentury, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Sirutondar (General of Pallavas)."
At Ganesha Talkies in Mysore, where I saw many splendid English movies in '60s, the curtains used to go up with the song Vatapi sung by Ghantasala. Vatapi Ganapatim is a common enough starter song in many concerts, especially instrumental concerts. Sometimes we fail to appreciate the true depth and worth of things just because we see them or hear them often. The more I think about it, the more inspiring is this masterpiece of a composition by Muthuswami Dikshitar. The meaning of this song is available in this very informative website.
Dikshitar has given a beautiful description of the deity and its mythical and mystical dimensions. To me the Ganesha concept is nottrivial... the elephant-headed God represents all that is thoughtful,powerful, benign and multi-dimensional without any mythological excesses. It also somehow deifies our physical existence, and the twinprinciples Bhukti+Mukti. Ganesha is joyous, gracious, auspicious and grand, all at the same time.
The raga Hamsadhwani seems to be the incarnation of Ganesha.. The raga suits the worship of Ganesha so well. Like Ganesha, it has strong and simple contours, and has instant appeal. Its melodic appeal crosses all cultural borders. As I visualize the notes of Hamsadhwani, the fundamental Sa provides a strong and stable melodic base at the Muladhara. The Ri defines grace, Ga defines majesty, Pa represents vocalised prayer, Ni represents meditation and the higher Sa the union with the Infinite. Just think of the attributes of Ganesha...exactly the same!
It seems appropriate to give you a beautiful rendering of this song by Vidwan Lalgudi Jayaraman ( thanks to my rasikottama friend).
