Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day-long Hindu festival
which is celebrated for Lord Ganesha’s birthday.
He is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
Ganesha is known by 108 different names
and is the God of arts and sciences and knowledge.
People believe that Ganesha helps to overcome any problem in a person’s life.
Before the start of ceremonies such as engagements, weddings, house warming, inaugration, etc.
the puja of lord Ganesha is held.
Let me tell you a story.
One day when Lord Shiva had gone hunting,
his wife Goddess Parvati went to take a bath.
She then created Ganesha out of dirt off her body
and told him to guard her door while she finished her bath.
If anyone tried to enter, she told him to stop them.
She then went for her bath.
When Lord Shiva returned, Ganesha did not know he was his father.
Likewise, even Lord Shiva did not know about Ganesha.
When Lord Shiva tried to enter, Ganesha stopped him.
Lord Shiva got very angry and cut Ganesha's head.
Goddess Parvati was furious and told Lord Shiva that Ganesha was their son!
Lord Shiva was shocked to hear Ganesha was his son. He told her to calm down.
Shiva then promised that Ganesha would live.
Shiva found an elephant. He cut off his head and placed it on Ganesha's body. This is how Ganesh became alive.
Ganesha is the most loved of all gods and has been worshipped throughout history.
No one knows when the festival started.
Chhatrapati Shivaji was the first to make Ganesh Chaturthi a public and social event.
When the British had captured India they stopped the festival.
People stopped celebrating in public and kept Ganesha idols in their homes to celebrate the festival.
There was also a big inequality between Brahmins and Non-Brahmins
There were many problems in India and everyone was suffering.
Then in 1892, freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak
saw the division among people
and wanted to unite people. He wanted the people to be united and loving like before.
During the British rule, the festival brought the entire country together.
Till now the festival is celebrated in India with the same spirit.
Maharashtra is the state known for grand scale Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and people's creavtivity is superb.
They really enjoy this festival.
Each locality places a Ganesha idol in their Pandal.
This is done by all the localities. People really enjoy this festival.
Days before homes are cleaned & decorated.
and colourful shrines are setup where Ganesha is placed.
People use flowers and their creativity to beautify the place.
Some of the statues are upto 20-30 feet high.
There are beautiful lighting and decoration. People gather in large crowd to enjoy and have fun.
People organise events such as dance, singing and aarti competitions
so that people can bond together.
Ganesha’s favorite is sweet Modak.
To celebrate the festival, people make large quantities of Modaks.
This is how people bond and celebrate the joyous Ganesh Chaturthi Festival.
Some people may immerse him after one and a half day, three days, five, seven or ten days.
When Ganesha is placed in the water for his farewell immersion it is called 'Ganpati Visarjan.'
Ganpati Visarjan's tenth day is a very important day.
People sing, dance and gather in large numbers for his visarjan.
In Mumbai alone, more than one lakh idols are immersed annually.
While singing and dancing, people chant phrase.
They ask him to quickly come again next year by saying "Pudhyachi Varshi Lavkar Ya"
This festival is celebrated and enjoyed every year
but there are many environmental problems because of it.
The Ganesha idols made up of Plaster of Paris (POP),
the flowers and plastic decorations is very bad for the environment.
When the idols are immersed, the POP does not dissolve and remains in the water.
It is bad for the environment and endangers the lives of the fishes as well.
Since there is so much awareness regarding the pollution of the environment, people have found different ways to celebrate this festival.
People create man made water bodies in their localities and invite people to immerse the idols there on the 10th day.
This saves the environment as there is less litter.
People have stopped using POP to make the idols and are using natural products.
This shows that we can celebrate our love for Ganesha without harming the environment.