Vinayaka Chaviti (Ganesh Chaturthi) - Ganesh Utsav Send Vinayaka Chaviti Greetings
This very social and colourful festival has an interesting beginning – in Maharashtra, where its popularity knows no bounds.
The ten-day festival starts from the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month, Bhadrapada and continues till the fourteenth day. Thousands join in and form the many processions that fill the streets when the time comes for the image to be immersed in a water body - the sea, river or a lake. The festival brings with it a feeling of caraderie.
On the first day the clay form of Ganesh is brought home with great devotion. Prayers are said and songs chanted to the accompaniment of music from the mridanga or two-sided drum and the jhanj or cymbals. Some devotees select and buy their Ganesh on the same day and others place their orders months in advance. The figures are often very large, standing several metres high. These larger Ganesh images are usually ordered by neighbourhood puja committees, the entire neighbourhood contributing towards the purchase.
After the idol is collected it is ceremoniously installed in a place of honour and various rituals take place. The Ganesh is decorated with ornaments, flowers and lights. Puja and aarti are performed every morning and evening using flowers, rice, betel nuts and leaves, turmeric, red powder, coins and oil lamps. Men and women, the old and young all join in. Special sweets called modaks are steamed or fried for offering to Ganesh. Modaks are small rice or wheat flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery. These are served at the festive meals during the festival.
On the tenth day of the festival is immersed in water. Huge processions made up of different groups all accompanying the image of Ganesh that they have worshipped, make their way by foot to the immersion site. The very large images are transported by truck. All this is done to the accompaniment of dancing and singing. The mood is jovial with everyone chanting, over and over again, "Ganesh Bappa more ya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavakar Yaa..." calling Ganesh to come again soon next year.
The sight of the crowded streets, the different Ganesh images and the happy people is an amazing spectacle. In large towns special roads are demarcated for these processions and the traffic police and users of cars, buses and two-wheelers display notable patience with the crowds and never-ending processions.
However, it is the stupendous scale of this festival, celebrated by communities of people in the cities and villages of Maharashtra, which attracts millions of people to the state. Some of the community idols are as tall as 20 metres. These are set up in large pandals, worshipped for up to ten days and then taken to the sea in immense processions for immersion. | 