Ganesh Rocks

Ganesha rocks!
Today, it’s that time of the year when chants of “Ganapati Bappa Morya” begin to resound across the country as long serpentine
queues of trucks carrying idols of Lord Ganesha inch their way into our homes and hearts. The elephant headed God’s back
and it’s time to rejoice, exclaims Viren Naidu Pandals with Ganesha idols dominate the country’s landscape, in an endeavour to win the coveted “best pandal
award” (an equivalent to an Oscar, literally!); women browse through every recipe book to outdo one another in the
‘modak preparation’ competition; the shops are busy selling exclusive merchandise; and the installation of Ganesha
idols in households and in mandals, is enthusiastically pursued. And if that’s not all, police and traffic personnel are
also deployed in order to ensure that the festivities go off smoothly. The Lord of success and destroyer of evil is
here! Also worshiped as the god of wealth, education, knowledge, he is the true symbol of wisdom and a bringer of
prosperity and good luck. Ganesha is also the demolisher of vanity, selfishness and pride. For India, the festival of
Ganesh Chaturthi acts as the perfect platform for people to come together, share camaraderie and exercise
devotion to God.
The festival in India, over decades, has gained immense popularity and preparations begin months in advance.
Sculptors who create the idols vie with one other to make bigger and better sculptures. Devotees playing trumpets,
cymbals, drums and flutes welcome the arrival of the elephant God, with open arms. The festival begins with the
setting up of magnificently carved Ganesha idols in the sacred corners of the homes and mandaps that are
artistically decorated, illustrating religious themes or current events. Prayer services are offered daily and these
services are not just restricted to the time of the festival; it’s also pursued otherwise. Irrespective of a religious
occasion, several Indians in many ways invoke the lord’s blessings with the recitation of “Om Ganeshaya Namaha” (I
bow to Thee Lord Ganesh). Enthusiasts flock mandaps to sing hymns from religious sholkas. And of course,
Ganesha’s favourite sweet dish, modak is prepared in different flavours and distributed.
During the festival, an array of the cultural/musical programmes are organised and few even bring to light social
issues, through short skits and few even use the festival as a platform to address current affairs, in an endeavour to
raise awareness. We
are all aware that this trend was initiated by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak during the nascent stages of Indian
nationalism. Ganesh Chaturthi was prominently promoted by Tilak who brought to the cause of independence a fire
of religious revivalism. The festival aided community involvement in the form of poetry recital, musical concerts,
debates, etc. It served as a meeting ground for people of all communities, at a time when all social gatherings were
prohibited by the British Empire for trepidation of conspiracies, to be caused against them.
The duration of the Lord’s stay varies from place to place; but once the worship is completed, the idols are
immersed in the sea. However, all efforts are initiated to keep the religious roots intact with some needed alterations
to suit the changing sustainability issues. Religious rules demand immersion of all idols in natural water sources.
However the immersion of increasing number of idols against the few number of water resources available have
raised concerns among environmentalists. Not only is there an acute shortage of water resources, the harmful
materials used for preparing idols have caused severe damages to the water ecosystem. Hence, proactive citizens
have taken the initiative to raise concerns about water pollution during this festive period with due respect to the
spiritual sentiments of the devotees and also by upholding conventional values and also at the same time, adopting a
modernistic approach to the cause. While it’s imperative to respect religious sentiments, one needs to adopt
measures that are environmental friendly.
Sadly, when it’s time to immerse the great God of prosperity and wisdom, sorrow looms over us as we return to
our homes, awaiting Ganesha’s return, the following year. But the excitement continues to prevail as communities

discuss ways through which they could construct elaborate extravagant pandals the next year; women discuss
innovative recipes they could experiment with to prepare modaks, sculptors start brainstorming on how they could
artistically create praiseworthy idols and if that’s not enough, one can only reminisce the joy derived out of the
festivities and eagerly anticipate what the next festival would have in store for them.
So shun all your worries and have a great Ganesha Chaturthi ahead and most importantly, don’t forget to binge on
those scrumptious modaks that go with it.

Ganesh chaturathi

Ganesha Chaturthi ( गणेश चतुर्थी) or Ganesha Festival is a day on which lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, Chavath ( चवथ ) in Konkani and as Chathaa (चथा) in Nepal Bhasa. It is celebrated as it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). Typically, the day falls sometime between August 20 and September 15. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi. This festival is observed in the lunar month of bhadrapada shukla paksha chathurthi madhyahana vyapini purvaviddha. if chaturthi prevails on both days, the first day should be taken. Even if chaturthi prevails for complete duration of madhyahana on the second day, but if it prevails on previous day’s madhyahana period even for one ghatika (24 minutes) the previous day should be taken. (Ref. Dharmasindhu and Indian Calendric System, by Commodore S.K. Chatterjee (Retd). Madhyahana is the 3rd / 5th part of the day (Sunrise-sunset).

Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.

While celebrated all over India, it is most elaborate in Maharashtra,Goa ( Biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world ) Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated by Newars in Nepal.

In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak, an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. ^[1] It is interesting to note that the festival was not celebrated in a public manner until this time but was a family affair among Hindus, who used to celebrate it in a traditional manner.

Lokamanya Tilak visualized the cultural importance of this deity and popularised Ganesha Chaturthi as a National Festival “to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them” in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra.

Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of his wide appeal as “the god for Everyman”. It was an important festival during the Peshwa rule in Maharashtra, but acquired a more organized form all over India during the Swaraj movement (Freedom struggle).

Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. The festival facilitated community participation & involvement in the form of learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. It served as a meeting ground for common people of all castes and communities, in a time when social & political gatherings were forbidden by the British Rule to exercise control over the population.

Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of these Ganesh statues in colorfully decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures mantapas (pandals) in every locality. The pandals are erected by the people or a specific society or locality or group by collecting monetary contributions. The mantapas are decorated specially for the festival, either by using decorative items like flower garlands, lights, etc or are theme based decorations, which depict religious themes or current events. The statues are worshiped with families and friends.

The priest, usually clad in red silk dhoti and shawl, then invokes life into the statue amidst the chanting of mantras. This ritual is the Pranapratishhtha. After this the ritual called as Shhodashopachara (16 ways of paying tribute) follows. Coconut, jaggery, 21 modakas, 21 durva (trefoil) blades of grass and red flowers are offered. The statue is anointed with red unguent, typically made of Kumkum & Sandalwood paste . Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.

For 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Ganesha is worshipped.

On the 11th day, the statue is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees. All join in this final procession shouting “Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukar ya” (O father Ganesha, come again early next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the statue to the river to immerse it.

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak ([modagam]or modakam in South India). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikaiin Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has a semicircular shape.

Public celebrations of the festival are hugely popular, with local communities (mandalas) vying with each other to put up the biggest statue & the best pandal. The festival is also the time for cultural activities like songs, dramas and orchestra and community activities like free medical checkup, blood donation camps, charity for the poor, etc.

Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival – it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Maharashtra. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. The same holds true for Hyderabad too.

For the year 2008 in the Western Calendar, Ganesha Chaturthi commenced on wednesday,september 3rd.