The end of the monsoon brings round one of All india's most beloved festivals - Ganesh Chaturthi.
Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated by Hindus around the world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the
destroyer of obstacles. Observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), it lasts for 10 days, ending on the tenth day which is called Ananta Chaturdashi.
This year, it all begins on September 17th 2015 Nimajjanam September 21th 2015.when Ganesha idols are brought home and installed. Gaṇēśa Caturthī or Vināyaka Caviti) is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Celebrations are traditionally held on the 4th day of the first fortnight (Shukla Chaturthi) in the month of Bhaadrapada, according to the Hindu calendar. This usually falls between August and September months of the Gregorian Calendar. Festivities usually finish in 10 days, on the fourteen day of the same fortnight (Anant Chaturdashi).
The festival is celebrated both publicly and privately at home. The modern day version of public celebrations involves installing clay images of Ganesha in public pandals (temporary shrines) and worshipped together for ten days. The private celebration involves installing an appropriate sized clay image at home and worshipping with family and friends. In both cases, at the end of the festival the idols are immersed in a body of water such as a lake or a pond.
The festival is generally celebrated all over India. However, celebrations also occur at Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Odisha and in other parts of Western India and Southern India. Outside India, it is celebrated widely in Terai region of Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora in the United States, Canada, Mauritius, and other places.
Within homes, the families install small clay statues for worship during festival. The idol is worshipped in the morning and evening, which involves various offerings of flowers, durva, karanji, kadabu and modak. The daily worship ceremonies ends with the worshippers singing the Aarti in honour of Ganesha, other Gods and saints. In Maharashtra, the Marathi aarti "Sukhakarta Dukhaharta", composed by the 17th century Hindu saints Samarth Ramdas is sung.
In Goa, the festival is locally known as Chavath in Konkani language and is also known as Parab (Parva, or "auspicious celebration"). In Goa, the actual festivities start on the third day of the lunar month Bhadrapada. On this day Haritalika, or Gauri,[who?] with Shiva is worshiped by women, which also includes fasting. Instruments like the Ghumot, cymbals and Pakhawaj are played in ceremony. Harvest festival, known as Navyachi Pancham, is celebrated on the next day where newly harvested paddy is ceremoniously brought home from the fields or temples (where Puja is held on a community level) and a Puja is conducted[clarification needed]. Communities that eat seafood refrain from doing so while the domestic Ganesha celebrations last.
In Karnataka, the Gowri festival precedes the Ganesha Chaturthi, and people across the state wish each other on the auspicious Gowri - Ganesha Habba (festival). In Andhra Pradesh, Ganesha idols of clay (Matti Vinayakudu) and turmeric (Siddhi Vinayakudu) are usually worshipped at homes along with plaster of paris idols. In Tamil Nadu, the festival is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Pillayar Chaturthi and the festival falls on the fourth day after a new moon in the month of aavani. The idols here are usually made of clay or Papier-mâché, since plaster of paris idols have been banned by the state government.[citation needed]. Idols are also made of coconuts and other organic products. The idols are worshipped for some days in pandals and are immersed in the Bay of Bengal the following Sunday. In Kerala, the festival is also known as Lamboodhara Piranalu. The festival falls in the month of Chingam. In the city of Thiruvananthapuram, a grand procession is held from the Pazhavangadi Ganapathi temple to the Shankumugham beach, with tall statues of Ganesha made from organic items and milk being immersed in the sea.[ Elephant worship is also widely practiced across Kerala.
The traditions of each family differs over when to end the celebrations. The domestic celebrations come to an end after 1, 1 1/2, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days when the idol is taken in a procession to a large body of water such as a lake, river or the sea for immersion. Due to environmental concerns, a number of families now avoid the large water bodies and instead let the clay statue disintegrate in a bucket or tub of water at home. After a few days the clay is used in the home garden. In some cities, a public eco-friendly process is used for immersion.
Public celebrations of the festival are popular. These are organised by local youth groups, neighborhood associations or a group of tradespeople. The funds for the public festival are collected from members of the association arranging the celebration, local residents or local businesses. The Ganesha idols and accompanying statues are installed in temporary shelter called mandap or pandals. The festival is the time for cultural activities like singing and theater performances, orchestra and community activities such as free medical checkup, blood donation camps, and charity for the poor. In modern times, the festival is not only a religious festival, but has become a very critical and important economic activity for Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Many artists, industries, and businesses earn a significant amount of their living from this Festival. Ganesha Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. Not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celebration like Muslims, Jains, Christian and others.Ganesha Chaturthi was first celebrated. However, the Ganesha festival was being celebrated as a public event in Pune since the times of Shivaji (1630–1680), the founder of the Maratha Empire. The Peshwas, the de facto hereditary administrators of the Empire from 1718 till its end in 1818, encouraged the celebrations in their administrative seat Pune as Ganesha was their family deity (Kuladevata). With the fall of the Peshwas, the Ganesha festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration again in Maharashtra until its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer, Lokmanya Tilak.
The public festival (as celebrated in Maharashtra today), was introduced by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale in 1892 by installing the first Sarvajanik (public) Ganesha idol. This followed a meeting at his residence, which was attended by Balasaheb Natu, and Krishnajipant Khasgiwale, amongst others. Khasgiwale, on his visit to the Maratha-ruled state of Gwalior, had seen the tradition of public celebration still maintained and brought it to the attention of his friends in Pune. In 1893 Lokmanya Tilak praised the concept of Sarvajanik Ganesha Utsav in his newspaper, Kesari, and the
next year he installed a Ganesha idol in Kesari Wada too. Tilak's efforts transformed the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organized public event. Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesha as "the god for everybody",and popularized Ganesha Chaturthi as a national festival in order to "bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins' and find a context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them", and generate nationalistic fervour amongst the people of Maharashtra to oppose the British colonial rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and also established the practice of submerging the idols in rivers, sea, or other pools of water on the tenth day after Ganesha Chaturthi.
Under Tilak's encouragement, the festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of intellectual discourses, poetry recitals, performances of plays, musical concerts, and folk dances. It served as a meeting ground for people of all castes and communities in times when the British discouraged social and political gatherings, in order to exercise control over the population.
in Chiral (MD). Epurupalem
Budati Vari Veedi.
Budati Jogendra.
