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The celebrations would begin much before the actual festival, in the form of cleaning the puja room and the murtis (idols) of the gods and the goddesses and the preparation of mouth watering savouries… aahhhaaaaaa the crispy murukkus.the sweet tasting adhirasams,the kajjikaais and laddoos specially made out of rava….the list is endless. Talking of the celebrations for Vinayaka Chaturthi, I am sure all my friends will relate to… I have grown up seeing the celebrations in my city and in the southern parts of India and once had the opportunity of witnessing the pompous celebrations in Mumbai, where the Lords birthday is the most important thing for any Mumbaikar akin to the way the Lord’s mother, the Goddess Durga is worshipped and celebrated in Kolkata as Durga puja. I won’t go into the details of the exact origin and the importance of this festival, just want to emphasize how important the birthday of this Ekadanta (Single tusked), Skandapurvaja (Elder brother of Lord Karthikeya), Parvathi Putra, Varasidhhi Vinayaka (Bestower of boons and success) is to us. So coming back to our friend, our saviour and the beginner of all auspicious things, our lovely, chubby, elephant headed God, in a cute attire, balancing Modaks( also called Kozhukattai in Tamil) visiting our houses according to the mythology and the tradition of bringing in a statue of the Lord and celebrating his birthday. It’s the Ganapati season and I am missing the celebrations at my hometown or should I say the most happening place for me in the world, my dear dear dear Bengaluru!!!įar far away from home….Ohhh I miss the pomp and grandeur which always accompanies our dear Golu Polu.our Lord Gajanana…on his Mooshika Vahana (for those of you not familiar with the South Indian lingo…it’s the vehicle/friend on which all our Indian deities are associated with, in this case the Mooshik or the Undir as Maharastrians call it or in plain simple terms.The Mouse.) I am proud to be a Banglorean wherein one gets used to hear all languages being spoken. Pardon my lingo for today…I will be typing few words in Tamil,Telugu, Marathi and Kannada. It is believed that Ganesha bestows his presence on earth for all his devotees during this festival and the festival is celebrated with absolute gusto by not only the citizens of the country, but even Indians living outside India Terai region of Nepal and Hindus in the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, etc.So a small write up from me depicting my childhood celebrations of this most awaited festival.I am sure all my friends would relate to this. The main sweet dish of the festival is ‘Modak’, dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments (either steam-cooked or fried). For environmental concerns, some people even immerse it in a bath tub then using the dissolved clay in home gardens. The end is marked by a grand procession that’s taken out for the immersion of the idol in the nearest lake or river.
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All the rituals are performed by a priest clad in red or white dhoti and shawl while chanting mantras. The ceremonies end with an ‘Aarti’ in honor of Ganesha. The idol is then worshipped with flowers and bunch of tender grass shoots called Durva every morning and evening till the departure. Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of Ganesha statues in beautifully decorated homes, also elevated platforms constructed for the purpose, commonly called ‘mandapas’. The festival usually ends with immersion of the deity in a water body along with the. In modern times, it involves worshiping of clay images of Ganesha installed in public pandals for ten days with different variety of herbal leaves and plants. The festival has evolved with the evolving age. Though it is celebrated across India, the grandeur of the culturally rich festival is explicit in Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka. It’s usually celebrated between August and September, specifically in the Bhaadrapada month of the Hindu calendar. Ganesh Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of Lord Ganesha, the God of beginnings and wisdom.