Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 22 of 58

Everybody Loves Ganesha

January 29th, 2010

Learning Moment: Chennai, India

I don't buy a lot of souvenirs. I have enough 'stuff' and less than enough room.

Also, airlines are making it extremely difficult to transport your toothbrush, let along a war mask.

Still, I do like to collect the occasional memento. For example, a couple of days ago, I bought these two Ganesha statues at Dakshinachitra (for US$6 each). This got me wondering what my purchase criteria is. After some thought, I decided that the souvenirs I buy have to meet at least some of these criteria:

• They are 'of the place I bought them' or will remind me of that place.
  I don't buy India crafts in the US or Balinese crafts in Japan. I want art that represents at least one component of the culture (if not more). The Ganesha represent a Hindu god. They also show India musical instruments.
• They have elements of both 'art' and 'craft'.
  This is totally subjective, of course. First, I want my piece to have some element of spirit; to represent an artists view of something. I'm not big into literal representations (I have my own camera, thank you). I want to feel like I'm looking at a part of the world through the artists eyes. Second, it should be well made. There should be a level of skill required to create it. These statues are artistic interpretations of Ganesha that convey a sense of grace and humor that I find appealing. They are also very solid, with an interesting 'wire' technique.
• They must represent something I like.
  Typically, this means music or dance. But it could include favorite animals, architecture or more. I like both elephants and music, so these Ganesha satisfy the criteria.
• It helps if they are usable.
  Furniture, lamps, musical instruments, and kitchen ware are great examples. If you can use a souvenir, it pulls double duty. These Ganesha serve no function, unfortunately.
• Finally, cost and size are always a factor.
  For obvious reasons... The Ganesha are four inches tall, so they work perfectly.

Do you buy souvenirs?
What are your souvenir criteria?