Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chavithi is a Hindu festival celebrated every year. On this auspicious day, Lord Ganesha was born and this day is marked as his birthday in the Bhadra month according to the Hindu calendar (mid-August-September). Lord Ganesh is considered to be the God of wealth, knowledge, wisdom, and prosperity.Out of the many stories that are associated to the history of Ganesh Chaturthi, the most popular one has its roots with Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati. According to the story, Goddess Parvathi created Ganesh with the sandalwood paste while Lord Shiva was away. While she was taking a bath she asked Ganesh to guard the entrance door. In the meantime, when lord Shiva returned, he was stopped by Ganesha which led to a tiff between them. In course of anger, Lord Shiva cut off Ganesh’s head. When Goddess Parvati told Shiva who Ganesha was, he promised that he would give Ganesha a new life, and fixed an elephant’s head on him, restoring his life and this way our Lord Ganesha was born, and this re-birth of the elephant-headed boy is celebrated as the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.The essence of this festival lies in the fact that the devotees worship Ganesh to free their lives of all the sins and substitute them with knowledge and action. It is strongly believed by the devotees that praying to Lord Ganesh can fulfill all their wishes and desires.On this auspicious day, people usually get up early in the morning and take a bath so that they can proceed toward the temple to offer their prayers to Lord Ganesha.Various artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha, varying in sizes and poses, are prepared by the artisans. These statues are installed in decorated pandals in homes, temples and mandaps. Flowers and lights enhances the beauty of statues installed.When the rituals begin, the priest chants mantras to invoke life into the idol. Since this festival calls for celebrations, there is loud music on the streets with people dancing to religious songs. The entire ambience turns lively with trendy music, drum beats, and dances of devotees. There are lights, colours, fireworks and much more to add to the festive spirit. The devotees take the idol through the streets, thus singing, dancing and shouting 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya' which means that the Lord should come back next year.Few devotees celebrate this festival at home. Family and friends are invited to attend the pooja at home. Recipes like Modak, Pooran Poli, and Sundal are prepared for friends and family.<doc-sep>Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! (Source: Dreamstime) Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! (Source: Dreamstime) Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: It was the elephant god Ganesh’s birthday and the moon decided to be rude. He was in for a surprise. Enjoy this Ganesh Chaturthi story! By Namita Anand One day when the world was still young and men and gods visited each other, Ganesha was invited for dinner to a friend’s house. Actually, it was Ganesha’s birthday and the friend had planned a party to celebrate the day. Now, Ganesha had heard that his friend’s wife was an excellent cook. And if the elephant god has one weakness, it is good food. Often called “lambodar” (one who has a big tummy), Ganesha loves to eat. He was delighted to accept the invitation. ‘It will be a lovely birthday,’ Ganesha thought. ‘I will be surrounded by friends and get to eat a lot of goodies too.’ The day passed by quickly. Riding his mouse, dressed finely, Ganesha reached his friend’s house in the evening. Everyone had a lot of fun at the party. Soon it was time for dinner. And what a fabulous spread waited for Ganesha! More than 51 dishes, each more delicious than the other, were laid out on the table. Some were salty and some sour, but most of them were sweet. Since the friend had told his wife that Ganesha had a sweet tooth, she had prepared a lot of sweet things. Ganesha tucked into the dinner happily. Just a wee bit greedy, he polished off one dish after another. He liked modaks—small, pear-shaped, sweet balls—the best. He gobbled down hundreds of them. Finally his tummy was stuffed so tight that it hurt. Ganesha then decided to leave. He took leave of his friend and his wife, telling them how he loved the feast. Holding on to his stomach, groaning a little bit, Ganesha clambered on to his mouse and left. It was night by this time. The moon lit Ganesha’s path. Suddenly a huge, black snake slithered across the road. The mouse got so frightened seeing the snake that he ran in the opposite direction. Poor Ganesha couldn’t maintain his balance. He fell down. And SPLAT! He scrambled all over. As he was trying to gather himself, the elephant god heard loud laughs. He looked up and saw the moon shaking with laughter. The moon, shining above, had watched everything and found the whole scene extremely funny. The mouse was running in one direction and the snake in the other. In the middle lay Ganesha, clutching his tummy tight and making an effort to get up. The moon couldn’t help but break into laughter! Also Read| Short Story: Sunday Rat by Chatura Rao The elephant god, already feeling foolish, got really angry hearing the moon laugh. First, he caught the snake and tied it around his middle to keep his stomach in place, and then he started to chase the moon. The moon realised he was in big trouble and ran for his life. He ran this way and that, but Ganesha kept after him. Finally, the moon found an empty house and went to hide inside it, closing all doors and windows. Ganesha, still upset, decided he would wait for the moon to come out. ‘Just you wait, Mr Moon!’ he called out. ‘Sometime or the other you will come out and then I will get you,’ said Ganesha. The elephant god sat down in front of the house to keep watch. Many days and nights passed. Terrified by Ganesha, the moon continued to hide in the house. Now without the moon, there was no light at night. (There was no electricity in those times.) The nights became pitch dark. No one could see anything. Work, play, everything had to stop as soon as the sun set. (Source: Ganesha by Namita Anand, illustrated by Garima Gupta, published by Scholastic India.) (Source: Ganesha by Namita Anand, illustrated by Garima Gupta, published by Scholastic India.) Worst of all, the moonless nights made the robbers and thieves very bold. They would do awful things and no one could catch them since it was dark. Everybody was very unhappy. They went to the house where the moon was hiding and begged him to come out. The moon refused. ‘How can I come out?’ he said. ‘If I do, Ganesha will get me.’ The people then decided to pray to Ganesha. ‘Dear God,’ they prayed, ‘have mercy on us. Forgive the moon. Let him come out and shine again.’ Ganesha, kind-hearted as usual, felt sorry for them. He realised it was not fair to make the entire world pay for the moon’s mistake. But then neither did he want the moon to get away without any punishment. After much thinking, he settled on a compromise. Ganesha declared, ‘The moon can come out of the house. I will not harm him. But he has to pay a price for laughing at me on my birthday. The moon’s punishment is that no one will like him or even look at him on my birthday. Those who do will invite trouble on themselves …’ The moon accepted the punishment timidly. He came out and took up his job of lighting up the night skies again. But even today many people don’t look up at the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi, Ganesha’s birthday. Who would want to displease Ganesha after all! (Excerpted with permission from the book Ganesha, written by Namita Anand and illustrated by Garima Gupta, published by Scholastic India.)<doc-sep>festival Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: A famous neighbour for Lalbaugcha Raja, Chinchpokli’s Chintamani Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: The latest attraction in Lalbaug is Chinchpokli’s Chintamani, drawing the youth who have turned it into a branding exercise by selling 53,000 T-shirts for Rs 1.6 crore. Devotees buy Ganesha idols. Photo: BCCL/Aniruddhasingh Dinore Lalbaugcha Raja Video: Devotees queue up for hours to get a glimpse of Ganesh idol on Ganesh Chaturthi 00:57 Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: Wishes, Greetings, Facebook, WhatsApp Status Messages, SMS, Images & Quotes Family and friends come together to celebrate this festival. But for those who are away, you can wish your loved ones with these Ganesh Chaturthi messages, quotes and prayers. Ganesh Chaturthi is an important Hinduwhich is celebrated across the country with excitement and zest. The festival is on Shukla Chaturthi of the Hindu month of Bhadra which typically falls in the month of August or September. This year, Ganeshostav commences on September 13.During the festival, which ends with Ananth Chaturdashi on September 23 this year, people bring Ganesha idols home for worship. There are temporary pandals built in several areas for the general public. The idol is immersed in water on the last day. Those who wish to can immerse the idol on the second, fifth and seventh days of the festival.Even though Ganesh Chaturthi is observed across the nation, states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh see special celebrations.Ganesha is considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is known as the God of wisdom, a symbol of new beginnings, the remover of obstacles and the deity of good fortune.Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed god with small eyes, large ears and four hands. He holds an axe in the right upper hand (to cut off all bonds of attachments), a rope in the upper left hand (to pull you nearer to the highest goal). The lower right hand signifies blessings (protecting the spiritual path of the supreme), and he holds a modak in his lower left hand (rewards for meditation).The primary sweet dish during the festival is the modak.Nowadays, people are very conscious about their Ganesha idols being eco-friendly and not made of plaster of Paris as the latter, when immersed, causes water pollution. Many people have started buying clay idols which is one of the eco-friendly options available.<doc-sep>It is that day of the year when thousands across the country will be playing dholaks to celebrate Lord Ganesha's birth. Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, is a major festival in India, but it's a tad bit special in Maharashtra. The pandals are taken over by huge and fancy idols of Lord Ganesha and there's of course, music. A Mumbai resident and Twitter user recently took to the microblogging site to share an anecdote around the festival. The Mumbai resident, who had lived in Bengaluru for 10 years, explains how she fell in love with Mumbai during the festivities. @swatieyz wrote, "Ganesh chaturthi is here and I am thinking about the night in 2016 when Bombay first made me fall in love with the beautiful city that it is. I moved to Bombay on 5th sep 2016 after spending almost 10 years in Bangalore. This was the day Ganesh festival began that year." Ganesh chaturthi is here and I am thinking about the night in 2016 when Bombay first made me fall in love with the beautiful city that it is. I moved to Bombay on 5th sep 2016 after spending almost 10 years in Bangalore. This was the day Ganesh festival began that year. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 It was the last day of the festival when @swatieyz's colleagues at work asked her if she had visited the "Lal Bagh Ka Raja". She hadn't. Last day of the festival, a colleague at work asked if I had visited Lal Baug Cha Raja yet. Till then I used to think that Lal Bagh ka Raja was a famous temple and didn’t know that the idol only remains for 10 days of the festival - just like our Durga Pujo. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 So I tell him I haven’t and my manager also joins him and jokes saying that I made a significant move in career and changed cities and arrived in Bombay on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi and how can I not pay my respects to Lal Bagh Ka Raja! — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 But realising that @swatieyz was taking them seriously, her colleagues advised her against visiting the celebrations on the very last day of the festival. Things can get chaotic due to rush and traffic snarls. But realizing that I was taking them seriously, they assured me they were only joking and that it wasn’t advisable for me to go there all alone that too last day, new to the city etc. That was that. I return to my temp company accommodation in worli and go about my evening. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 I wasn’t regular on Twitter then and had about 100 followers. Just out of curiosity I decided to post online and ask “if it was safe to go to Lal bagh ka raja” at that hour and if I will get darshan. It was around 11 pm and had just stopped raining. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 A newbie on Twitter, @swatieyz sent out a tweet asking if it was safe to go to "Lal Bagh ka Raja" for a late night darshan. To her surprise, her followers responded with a yes. "Had the most incredible darshan in flat 25 mins," @swatieyz writes. This was probably the first time twitter responded to me () and I received so many comments all saying “yes”. So I look up the place on google map - it showed 12 mins walk from my guest house. I changed and left. Had the most incredible darshan in flat 25 mins. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 Now I only had 110 bucks on me. I bought one ladoo for 10 bucks and a photo frame of Ganesh which the seller quoted 120 bucks but I bargained and settled for 90 . But it was such a happy bargain that I gave him 100 instead. That photo hangs in puja ghar of my house in Calcutta. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 With only 110 rupees on her, @swatieyz bought a laddoo and a photo frame of Ganesha. On her way back, she realised she had lost her way but managed to get a taxi back to her guest house. Only then she realised, she didn't have cash on herself nor did she have any money at her guest house. And I happily started walking back home. Clicking pictures of people on the street. I would have kept clicking but my phone died. And thanks to multiple exits of the pandal I had no clue where I had exited and how to get to my guest house from there. It was about 1 am by then. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 I walked for a while and then managed to get a kaali peeli taxi. Told him name of the building and he said he knew where it was. Only after reaching my guesthouse, I realised I didn’t have cash to pay him. Had no cash with me in my room as well. And I told him so. — RiderOnTheStorm (@swatieyz) September 12, 2018 With no cash to give him, @swatieyz suggested the cabbie to drive her to the nearest ATM but he politely declined. To her surprise he said, God had sent him to help her. She pointed out that the driver was a Muslim man.<doc-sep>
Ganesh Chaturthi is an auspicious 10-days Hindu festival which is celebrated as a mark of Lord Ganesha's rebirth day. The elephant-headed God, Ganesha is Lord Shiva and Parvati's youngest son and is known by 108 names. Ganesha is depicted by the red colour usually. His elephant-head, huge ears, one broken tusk, characteristic pot belly, four hands holding a pasam, goad, laddus and a pot of rice-- make him easy to identify among millions of Hindu Gods and Goddess. Ganesha's ‘vahan’ is a mouse which is seen as a companion at his temples.Lord Ganesha or Vignaharta is the destroyer of obstacles, leading one to success. He symbolises new beginnings, and so devotees pray to Lord Ganesha at the start of ceremonies or the beginning of any venture seeking his blessings. Ganesha is the God of prosperity, good fortune, spiritual knowledge and is recognised as the deity of Supreme Self.The 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayak Chavithi or Vinayaka Chaturthi festival is celebrated by Hindu devotees with great fanfare to honour Lord Ganesha's re-birth. Following the moon cycle, the festival begins on the fourth day of the waxing moon period or Shukla Chaturthi and continues till the 14th day of the waxing moon period or Anant Chaturdashi. There are many interesting stories behind Lord Ganesha's re-birth which are found in the holy book Brahma Vivartha Purana, Ganesha Khanda chapter.According to one of the stories, once Goddess Parvati created a human from sandalwood and gave life to it to guard her door as she took bath; another version of the same story says that the human figure was created by Parvati from her body's dirt and instilled life in when she bathed. However, when Lord Shiva came home and was denied entry to his home by Ganesha as the guard, Shiva was furious and he chopped the guard's head only to later know that the guard was created by Parvati. Lord Shiva then asked his attendants or ganas to get the head of the first living creature they see. The first such creature turned out to be an elephant and the ganas brought its head to the Lord. Shiva then replaced the elephant's head on the human's body and brought him back to life, thus naming him Ganesha or Ganpati-- chief of Lord Shiva's ganas or attendants.The other legend is that the Devas had once requested Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati to create an obstacle-creator (vighnakartaa) for rakshasas, and an obstacle-averter (vighnahartaa) for Devas and so Lord Ganesha was born. (Photo: Shutterstock)In order to install Lord Ganesha's clay idol at home, devotees first clean their house and take a bath themselves. They then fill a Kalash with water, place a coconut on top of it and decorate it with betel leaves. The Ganesha idol is then placed on a platform which is at some height. The idol is then adorned with a sacred thread (Janve) on the left shoulder and adorned with a sandalwood paste tilak on the forehead and garlands; Durva grass and red flowers are offered to Ganesha. Mantras from Rigveda are recited to do pranpratishtha, a ghee lamp is lighted and the Lord is offered Modak while aartis are performed.Devotees can bring Ganesha home for 1.5 days, 3 days, 7 days or 10 days. Once the Ganpati Sthapna is done the following rules should be followed by the devotees:1. Devotees and their family member should avoid having garlic and onion after Ganpati Sthapna, during the festival period.2. Lord Ganesha is a guest at your home during the festival. And so, everything-- be it food, water or prasad-- should first be offered to Ganapati first.3. It should be noted that Ganesha should never be left home alone or unattended. There should be atleast one family member with him.4. During this time, devotees should avoid gambling whether it is inside or outside the house.5. Consuming meat and alcohol is also strictly prohibited.6. One should not steal or cheat as it will lead to strict punishment from Ganesha.7. Avoid negative thoughts. One must also not fight or use foul language in the presence of the Lord. Try to be calm in difficult situations, as Ganesha will take care of you and your troubles.8. After installing a Ganesha idol in your home, one should observe celibacy during the festival period.