The auspicious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-days festival and preparations for this grand celebration are in full swing as the festival is round the corner. This year, the ‘Ganeshotsav’ will fall on August 31. This year the ‘Ganesh Chauth‘, is likely to be celebrated with great pomp across the country after two years of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ganeshotsav is being celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh. On this day, the deity is worshipped as the god of good fortune, prosperity and of wisdom. It is being believed that Lord Ganesh was born on Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada month.
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Significance of Ganesh Chaturthi:-
It is an annual 10-days festival and will conclude on Anant Chaturdashi. On this day, the devotees immerse the idol in the water body (we can also call it Ganesh Visarjan day). This year, the visarjan will be observed on September 09. During visarjan, the devotees also take out a procession and chant ‘ganpati bappa morya’. Apart from this, some devotees also perform the visarjan on the third, fifth or seventh day as per their family tradition.
Lord Ganesh also known as ‘Vinayaka’, is worshipped first among all gods and before the starting of any ritual, ceremony or puja. The ‘Modak’ is one of the favourite sweets of Lord Ganesh. Therefore, during puja, the devotees make modak and distribute them to others after offering it to Ganpati ji.
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History:-
Lord Ganesha or Ganapati ji is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. According to Hindu religious texts, he is portrayed as having a human body with an elephant head and four hands. The ‘Mouse’ is the mount of Lord Ganesha.
Ganapati ji is also known as Ekdanta, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar, Heramba, Eshanputra, Ganadhakshya, Manomay, Mahabala, Omkara, Siddhidhata, Uddanda, Vigneshwara, Yogadhipa, Uddanda, Rakta, Nadapratithishta, Vighnaharta, Vakratunda, Lambodara, Krishnapingaksha, etc.
The Ganeshotsav is celebrated with most excitement in states like Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Few famous Ganeshotsav pandals of Mumbai:-
Ganesh Chaturthi is Mumbai’s most famous festival, Few pandals where the festival celebrated in a grand way are- Lalbaugcharaja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav of Lalbaug, Andhericharaja, Azad Nagar Sarvajanik Utsav Samiti of Andheri, etc.