Ganesha Chaturthi

11 September 2010

Ganesha, the Elephant-God, is probably the most recognisable of the Hindu deities to those outside the faith and being the god of education and knowledge and the destroyer of pride, vanity and selfishness is of great significance and popularly worshipped by those within the faith.

Ganesha Chaturthi, the festival held in honour of the birthday of Ganesha, was once a quiet affair, celebrated only in Indian homes and temples. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, the freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak encouraged communities to make their celebrations public as a way of spreading the message of the struggle for independence from the British.

Now Ganesha Chaturthi (also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganapati festival) is a wonderful, colourful public spectacle - here's how Siddartha from Mumbai describes it:

“ Ganesha is probably the most popular Hindu god - certainly the most friendly and approachable. Nowhere is his festival celebrated with as much gaiety and community participation as Mumbai. The preparations start well in advance but things really hot up when the idol finally arrives and is installed. For the next ten days, evenings are for dancing and merrymaking, meeting the neighbours, ethnic clothing, teenage romances and lots of good food. Oh yes, prayers too! By the eleventh day, when the idol is loaded onto a truck to be taken to the sea, everyone has fallen into a routine that is hard to break out of and life seems a dreary drag. Small wonder that everyone is chanting: "Ganapati bappa morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya" (Praise the Lord Ganapati .. come sooner next year!) „

Our Classical Splendour and Mandu & Ajanta-Ellora tours can be extended to take in the festival in Mumbai. Alternatively, we will be happy to design a tailor-made tour to incorporate Ganesha Chaturthi.