Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. The festival is celebrated for up to ten days, during which clay representations of Lord Ganesh are placed in pandals or private residences and worshipped. The festival is celebrated all over India, particularly in Maharashtra, with great zeal and ecstasy.
The origin of Ganesh Chaturthi remains unknown, but it became increasingly popular after a public celebration was initiated by the prominent Anti-Colonial Freedom Fighter, Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in Maharashtra in the year 1893. It was a means to form a "Hindu nationalist identity" and rebel against British rule. The festival was celebrated with patriotic gusto fueled by a united deep devotion and love for Lord Ganesh.
The festival features cultural activities such as singing, theatre and orchestral performances, and community activities such as free medical checkups, blood-donation sites, and donations to the poor. During the festival, Lord Ganesh is said to grant all of his devotees his physical presence on earth.
The festival begins with the pranapratishtha, a ritual to invoke life in the idols, followed by shhodashopachara, or the 16 ways of paying tribute. Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns from religious texts like the Ganesh Upanishad, the idols are anointed with red sandalwood paste and yellow and red flowers. Ganesha is also offered coconut, jaggery, and 21 modaks (sweet dumplings), considered to be Ganesha’s favourite food. At the conclusion of the festival, the idols are carried to local rivers in huge processions accompanied by drumbeats, devotional singing, and dancing. There they are immersed, a ritual symbolizing Ganesha’s homeward journey to Mount Kailas—the abode of his parents, Shiva and Parvati.
In conclusion, Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesh and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and devotion in India and other parts of the world. The festival features cultural and community activities, and the immersion of the clay representations of Lord Ganesh marks the end of the festival.
