Kola Bou: The Nine Plants

The ritual

On Saptami morning, a banana plant bound with eight other plants, the Nabapatrika, is carried to the river or pond with dhak and conch, bathed, wrapped in a red-bordered sari and set beside Ganesha. People call her Kola Bou, the banana bride, and many think she is Ganesha's wife. In the ritual she is the goddess herself: each of the nine plants stands for one of her forms.

How to play

• Name: tap a plant, then the goddess it stands for. Fewer mistakes and faster time score more.
• Bath: watch the priest's sequence of conch, dhak, Ganga water and ulu, then repeat it. It grows longer each round.
• Dress: answer three questions about how she is dressed and where she stands.