Ganesha Chaturthi

Introduction :

Ganesha Chaturthi  (also known as Vināyaka Chaturthi, Gaṇēśa Chaturthī or Vināyaka Chaviti) is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha. This is a very auspicious day celebrated to pray to the god so that every new activity that is started is successfully completed without any obstacles .

History : 

Although it is unknown when (or how) Ganesha Chaturthi was first observed,the festival has been publicly celebrated in Pune since the era of Shivaji (1630–1680, founder of the Maratha Empire).The Peshwas (hereditary administrators of the empire from 1718 until its end in 1818) encouraged the celebrations in their capital, Pune, since Ganesha was their family god (Kuladevata).^[28] With the fall of the Peshwas, the Ganesha festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration in Maharashtra until its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak.

The current Maharashtra public festival was introduced in 1892 by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale ( also known as Bhau Rangari), who installed the first sarvajanik (public) Ganesha idol after he met with Balasaheb Natu and Krishnajipant Khasgiwale at his home. When he visited the Maratha-ruled state of Gwalior, Khasgiwale saw the traditional public celebration and brought it to the attention of his friends in Pune . In 1893 Tilak praised the celebration of sarvajanik Ganesha utsav in his newspaper, Kesari, and the following year he installed a Ganesha idol in the Kesari office; his efforts transformed the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organised public event. Tilak recognized Ganesha’s appeal as “the god for everybody”, popularising Ganesha Chaturthi as a national festival to “bridge the gap between Brahmins and ‘non-Brahmins’ and find a context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them”, generating nationalistic fervour in the Maharashtran people to oppose British colonial rule.He was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and established the practise of submerging the idols in rivers, the sea or other bodies of water on the tenth day of the festival

Encouraged by Tilak, Ganesh Chaturthi facilitated community participation and involvement in the forms of intellectual discourse, poetry recitals, plays, concerts, and folk dances. It was a meeting ground for people from all castes and communities at a time when the British discouraged social and political gatherings to control the population.

Celebrations :

Celebrations are traditionally held on the fourth day of the second fortnight (Shukla Chaturthi) in the month of Bhaadrapada in the Hindu calendar, usually August or September in the Gregorian calendar. Badrapad corresponds to Virgo (simha/avani-tamil) in solar calendar. The festival generally lasts ten days, ending on the fourteenth day of the fortnight (Anant Chaturdashi).

The festival is celebrated by families at home, by people at their places of work and in public. The public celebration involves installing clay images of Ganesha in public pandals (temporary shrines) and group worship. At home, an appropriately-sized clay image is installed and worshipped with family and friends. At the end of the festival, the idols are immersed in a large body of water such as the sea, river or a lake. The clay idols disintegrate over time in the water.

It is celebrated throughout India, especially in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There is a grand celebration in the state of Maharashtra by traditional instrument called dhol and tasha. It is also celebrated in the other parts of India such as Gujarat,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,Goa, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other parts of western and southern India.Abroad, Ganesha Chaturthi is observed in the Terai region of Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora in the United States, Canada andMauritius.