Ganesh Puja

Ganesh Chaturthi

This 10-day long festival, honours Lord Ganesh (son of Lord Shiva), the elephant-headed god of auspiciousness who is worshipped as the remover of obstacles and the harbinger of successful new beginnings. It is celebrated all over India in the month of August or September.

Ganesh Chaturthi has special significance in Maharashtra , where the nationalist Bal Gangadhar (Lokamanya) Tilak revived it as a way of getting around the British restrictions on the assembly of people during the freedom struggle. On the first day of the festival an idol of Lord Ganesh is installed – big ones in a community centre, smaller ones in people's homes. The idol is not dressed in clothes - clothes and jewelry are painted on the idol. Puja (prayers) is performed. Small Ganpati idols, kept in homes, are normally immersed after a day. The annual celebration comes to an end on Anand Chaudhas , the tenth day after the installation. On this day all the idols are taken for visarjan (immersion) in the sea or river, in a procession. People sing and dance all the way and chant Ganpati Bappa Maurya Pudcha Varshi Laukrya (My dear God Ganesha come back soon next year).

In Pune, a special three-day long cultural festival is organized, with classical dance and music performances, poetry recitations, folk dances, theatre and a film festival.