Ganeshotsav

Hello once again my friends.
It's almost after a month's time from the famous MUMBAI FLOODS, that I have revisited my blogs. The month was really nasty, and many people suffered a lot. Hundreds lost their lives, thousands lost their living..!!
But the forthcoming Ganesh Festival is giving hopes to the sufferers.

The Begining

When Lokmanya Tilak came back from a longtime imprisonment, his first editorial was 'Punascha Hari Aum'- let's start once again.. show must go on...
The same great Maharashtrian Leader and Philosopher started the 'Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava' - The Genesh Festival celebrated on public scale, in 1893. The first public festival was celebrated at Keshavji Naik Chawl, Girgaum, Mumbai. That time, Girgaum was considered as the heart of Maharashtrian culture and tradition in Mumbai. The impact that Ganeshotsava brought to the people in Maharashtra was so great that the British Rulers wantedto ban this festival. This festival gave a huge stage for all those who wanted to awake the Indian people against the slavary they were experiencing under British Empire. This festival was also big podium for the local artistes, cultural activists and common people. It gave a chance to the folks of all communities in India to come togather. It also helped to make these people united, strong and determined.

Why Ganesh?

Ganesh Bhakti and Puja (devotion and worship) has been an integral part of Hindus for long time. The story goes way back when Maharshi Vyas asked Lord Ganesh to write the famous epic 'Mahabharat'. He is the symbol of renovation, revival and good begining. He is so popular in Hindus that he is given the honour of being worshiped and prayed before every sacred and happy ritual or function like wedding or house opening ceremonies. This is significant when we search for reasons why Lokmanya chose Ganesh as THE deity of celebration - becasue he wanted to revive the dead Indian people and wanted to make them fight for their independence.

How is Ganeshotsava Celebrated?

According to Hindu Calendar, the fourth day of the Month of Bhadrapad (bhadra - good, pada - step, foot; Bhadrapada is the month after monsoon when the crops are ready to be cut and everybody is happy, feeling good) is celebrated as 'Ganesh Jayanti', the day of Lord Ganesh's Birth. The individuals bring a idol of Lord Ganesh to their homes, they perform puja and arti, they decorate their houses, they get togather with their relatives and friends, have a very warm, homely celebration. Some people keep the Ganesh Idol in their home for two days, some for five or seven days, and some even for ten days. After that they immerse the idol in the nearby river or well or pond or lake. This day is called 'Ganesh Visarjan'. The tent day after Ganesh Jayanti is called 'Anant Chaturdashi'. This is the last day when people can immerse their Ganesh Idols in Water.
The 'Saravajanik', i.e., Public celebration of the festival is famous typically in Maharashtra, but now-a-days, even in Gujrath, Karnataka and other states of India as well. There are associations or groups or committees of people called 'Ganeshotsav Mandals', which organize these public celebrations. They install a big (or small) pandals, and there they keep the Lord Ganesh's idol. These Mandals also decorate their pandals with different themes - mythic, historic, current affairs, scientific, electronic and in many other ways. The Saravajanik Ganeshotsav is generally celebrated for ten days.



Traditions and Trends in Ganeshotsav

The different cities in Maharashtra have different traditions and trends in Ganeshotsav. The celebrations in Pune, 'the city of learned', are probably the most famous of all in India. Every year, millions of people visit to this festival in Pune. It is a great sight. On the day immersion, the Ganesh idols are queued up in the honorary order. The oldest mandals have their idols first in the queue. The first five Mandals who get the honour to immerse their idols are -
1. Kasba Ganapati Mandal,
2. Tambdi (Red) Jogeshwari Mandal,
3. Guruji Talim Mandal
4. TulshiBag Mandal
5. KesariWada Mandal ( The place from where Lokmanya Tilak's newspaper 'Kesari' is published)
Apart from this, the regular crowd pullers are DagduSheth Halawai Ganapati and Mandai Ganapathi.
The idols are generally immersed in The Mula River.
In Mumbai, the Arebian Sea facilitates the Ganeshotsav Mandals to have tall Ganesh Idols. The idols in Lalbag and Girgaum are tallest of all. Sometimes the height of the idol is 30-35 feet. This 'height factor' is the issue of rivalry and prestige to these mandals. The most famous Ganeshotsav are -
1. Keshavji Naik Chawl (The First Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav)
2. GaneshGalli - The tallest Ganesh idol of all
3. Lalbag cha Raja (King of Lalbag - in fact The King of all Mumbai Ganeshotsav)
4. GSB Ganesh, Wadala - richest in Mumbai
5. Tilak Nagar, chembur - Famous for its marvelous immitation of historic and well-famed monuments.
and many more in Girgaum and Parel-LowerParel area.

More about this festival in later posts.

Links

http://www.hindunet.org/god/Gods/ganesh/
http://www.dagdushethganpati.com/