Ganesh Chaturthi is the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha. The festival celebrating Lord Ganesha's birth is called Ganeshotsav and is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). While held all over India, it is at its most elaborate in Maharashtra, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. This typically comes sometime between 20^th of August and 15^th of September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

Rituals

During the festivals, a household worships an idol of Shri Ganesha. The worship happens for 1 day in South India, but in western states of Maharashtra and Goa, the worship may last from 2 to 10 days.

The main sweet-dish during the period are modaks, also known as modagams in South India and karanjis. A modak is a sort of dumpling made from rice flour with a stuffing of coconut, jaggery and some other condiments. It can be either steam-cooked or fried and the coconut can be fresh-grated or dried-grated. A karanji is similar but has the shape of the 4th day moon.

There are also public celebrations of the festival, with local communities (mandals) vying with each other to put up the biggest idol. The festival is the time for a lot of cultural activities like songs, dramas and orchestra.

Wordly meaning of MODAK — MODA means happiness and K is a suffix. Modak means "That which gives (or brings) happiness".

Legend

Legends say that Lord Ganapati (contraction of Ganesh pati - "Father Ganesh") was created by goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door she went to have her bath. However, while Parvati was taking her bath, Lord Shiva happened to come there and as Ganesha didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter the house. As a result, Lord Shiva got angry

To know more about this deity read Ganesh Purana

History

According to the historian Shri Rajwade, records reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated even during the reigns of Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya. There are also references in historical records to similar celebrations during Peshwa times, Lord Ganapati being the family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa rule, from 1818 to 1892 Ganesh Festival remained a family affair in Maharashtra.

It was around 1893, during the growth of nascent Indian nationalism, that the radical nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra with great community enthusiasm and participation.

Rooted in Tradition

From then onwards, this festive occasion has grown in acceptance and today, commands the respect of millions of citizens all over Maharashtra. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak brought Ganesha as a deity out on the streets. It was a unique move by this freedom fighter, which he achieved with the Ganpati visarjana or immersion procession, wherein the mass output of several Ganesh mandals is taken out on a parade on the final day of the Ganesh festival and taken to be immersed. This process was started in 1892 and is now prevalent virtually all over Maharashtra, with special emphasis on Bombay and Pune. Lokmanya Tilak attached this mass celebration to increase national awareness about the Freedom movement. Herein, neighbourhood Ganeshas are worshipped and brought to immersion sites, where huge crowds gather to bid him an emotional and frenzied farewell.

In Pune, as the sun sets over darkening rivers, the images are taken out in boats and as each one is immersed, a cry is raised asking him to return the next year. It is an emotional and public farewell to their beloved god as parthiva (of the earth), who like the Phoenix, will rise once again the following year.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival which commences on the fourth day of the bright half of the month of Bhadrapada, around August or September. It is variously celebrated for one, two, five, seven or 11 days. The

A special puja is performed for Ganesha. The worship of the deity involves getting a corner ready to receive the god. Ganesha is invited with a special phrase and with material and verbal offerings, the puja begins. It involves the panchamrut (five nectars), which includes milk, curd, ghee, honey and jaggery, with which the god's icon is bathed, cleansing in between with water.

Ganesha is then given a red garment and the sacred thread - saying it is silver. He is then smeared with red sandal paste and offered red or yellow flowers. A lamp is lit, bells chime and food is offered in six symbolic mouthfuls - not to the god's body, but to his five panchapranas or 'vital breaths' and the one beyond - the absolute.

During the festival, puja is performed twice every day - once in the morning and again in the evening. Ganesha is offered special leaves and flowers, 21 of each and white durva grass. The idol is formally installed on the first day and given life in the presence of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and the Vedas. Touching the idol with blades of durva grass, he is brought to life step by step and made to go through 15 of the 16 rites of passage that each Hindu goes through in his lifetime.(The sixteenth one, which is for death, is omitted.)

The Ganesha mantra is chanted, followed by a Ganesha prayer. The last puja done, the family or congregation gathers around and rice grains are placed on the head of the idol, which is moved, symbolically unseating him.

As a matter of interest there are about 91 different figures of Ganesha according to research done by several scholars. The details of their make up may vary from figure to figure, but with no change in the main set-up. It is the enigma of certain striking variations in details that the sublime in the figures of Ganesha has to be sought for.

Some figures are seen sitting with their trunks turned towards the left side, invariably reaching a bowl of modaks (a sweet edible and festive preparation), while in some figures, the trunks are seen turning towards the right and in yet others, the trunk is straight, hanging down, with or without a pot of nectar in the curve of their trunks.

In some images, Ganesha is seen standing, resting his right foot on a lion and his left foot on a mouse (his chosen mode of transport), while in some other images, his left foot is found resting on a mouse and his right foot lifted in an effort to touch the serpent girdle - his mount carrying a jewel in its mouth.

Problems

Despite the well meaning idea behind this festival, in modern times there have been a few stray incidents of religious tensions between the Hindus and Muslims during the visarjan (immersion) rallies. This happens when the Ganesh procession uses those routes (usually as a result of lack of alternative routes due to factors like size of the procession, size of the Ganesh idol and/or the vehicle used to carry it, length of the route, etc.) that pass through places inhabited by other religious groups. This is seen by some as a show of strength on part of the Hindus. However, there are examples of Muslims (and even Christians) involved in Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, such as the Shri Sarvajanik Ganesh Mitra Mandal at Shri Sunder Kamala Nagar, King's Circle. As of 10^th September 2005, a Muslim heads this particular Ganesh mandal (a small group that organises the local celebrations), which was founded by Wilson Brooks (a Christian) some 24 years ago. See .

Environmentalists too have questioned the dumping of the idols made increasingly with chemicals which pollute the lakes and seas. On September 2004, the Chennai High Court imposed a temporary ban on such immersions. Every year there are at least a couple of casualties associated with accidents (while dumping the idols) or clashes associated with this.

See also

• Ganesh festival
• Hindu festivals