Ganesh Chaturthi- A Festival to Celebrate Birthday of Lord Ganesha
Ganeshotsav, The most popular Hindu festival in India,celebrated on the occasion of birthday of Lord Ganesha, Son of Great God Lord Shiva and Goddess Maa Parvati. Lord Ganesha is the superior to all the Hindu gods and known as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is celebrated across all over India mainly in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. The festival generally falls between 19 August to 15 September and celebrated for 10 days by worshiping the models of Lord Ganesha. A sweet dish called modak is the most famous dish made during the festival of Ganesha.
Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra: Ganesh Chaturthi is the major festival of Indian state Maharashtra,The birthday of Lord Ganesha is celebrated in each and every house of Maharashtra with tradition and rituals. Big idols of Lord Ganesha are placed in every society and worship twice in a day by offering Modak and other traditional dishes. Mumbai is well known for its big Idols of Lord Ganesha and Girgaum Chowpatty as the famous immersion place.
Ganesh Chaturthi In Andhra Pradesh: Ganesh Chaturthi is known as Vinayaka Chtaturthi in the state of Andhra Pradesh and celebrated as most ancient festival. Biggest and Tallest idols of the elephant-headed God are install in different parts of city, Khairathabad Ganesha Idol is one of the most famous among all.
Ganesh Chaturthi in Karnataka: Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with prayers to the mother of Lord Ganesha by Gowri Puja, The married women worship the Goddess Gowri for a long lasting marriage life and marital bliss. Lord Ganesha festival celebration goes on for three days five, seven or ten days, Somewhere, it is stretched to twenty one days. Dodda Ganesha Temple of Bangalore is the most famous temple of Lord Ganesha with a 18 ft tall in height and 16 ft wide Ganesha idol.
Ganesh Chaturthi in Goa: The Lord Ganesha festival is celebrated across all over Goa, Goa is started celebrating it as an Eco-friendly Ganesh festival by using the biodegradable materials to create Ganesha idols. Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the biggest festival for the Konkanis people in Goa. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are also celebrates the festival of Lord Ganesha.
Ganesh Chaturthi Outside India: Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated outside India as well by the migrant Hindu people or the Indians residing in the countries. In UK Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated by Gujarati and in USA by the south Indian people. It is also celebrated by the Hindus of Canada, Mauritius,Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and Fiji. Celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi is very much popular in the above countries and government of some of these countries has declared a public holiday for that day.
Eco Friendly Ganesha Festival: As per the Hindu tradition On the 11th day, the statue is taken to be immersed into a lakes, river and the sea, due to the immersion of these idols made of Plaster of Paris,chemical paints heavy metals and other non degradable substances water of these reservoir, environment and the aqua wildlife face serious impact. These are the few solutions proposed by the NGO’s and governmental bodies to celebrate Eco-Friendly Ganesha Festival.
- User traditional natural clay idols.
- Immerse them in household water bodies or in a bucket.
- A permanent idol and used every year.
- Reuse of last year idols by repaint.
- Ban on the immersion of Non degradable idols into lakes and rivers.
- Use the biodegradable materials to create Ganesha idols.
- Immerse the idols into man made or artificial tanks of water.
