"Ganesh Chaturthi" (A HINDU FESTIVAL)

GANESHCHATURT

HIa festival of spirituality

Presented by:Rabia Sagheer

Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the god Ganesha also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi

FACTS:

Hindu calendar month of BhaadrapadaStarts on 4th – 14th where;

4th day = shukla chaturthi10th day= Anant ChaturdashiDate falls between Aug and SeptIt lasts for 10 days

Widely worshipped as:

the God of *wisdom, *prosperity and, *good fortune

was being celebrated as a public event in Pune to promote culture and nationalismfall of the Peshwas, GaneshChaturthi lost state patronage became a private family celebration.

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RE-RISE BY LOKMANYA TILAKHis real name was Bal Gangadhar Tilak

was Indian freedom *fighter and,

*social reformer

introduced a new way of celebrating the

Ganapati festival

he made this fest as collective community worshipIt was the era where Indian was struggling for

independenceleaders and freedom fighters all over India teamedput up a united resistance to the British domination

One of these eminent leaders was Bal Gangadhar Tilak; an Indian nationalist* a social reformer* and, freedom fighter*He was a great Visionary personTilak realized the cultural importance of thispopularised Ganesha Chaturthi as a National Festival

Behind this festival his intention was to bridge the gap between the : Brahmins* and, the non-Brahmins*

to build a new grassroots Unity* between them against the British in Maharashtra

He knew that India couldn't fight her rulers until she solved the differences within her own

Hence, to unite all social classes Tilak chose this Ganesha festival;*as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule

It was around 1893, during the nascent stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak began to organize the Ganesha Utsav as a social and religious function.

He was the first to put in large public images of Ganesha in pavilions and establish the tradition of their immersion on the tenth day.

The festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of : *learned discourses, *dance dramas, *poetry recital, *musical concerts, *debates, etc.

It served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities

it was a time when all social and political gatherings were forbidden by the British Empire for fear of conspiracies to be hatched against them.

An important festival during the Peshwa’s era, Ganesha Chaturthi acquired at this time a more organized form all over India largely due to Lokmanya's efforts.

Since then, Ganesha Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra also in other states with great community enthusiasm and participation. With the independence of India in 1947, it was proclaimed to be a National festival

FamousLal bagh ka RAJA, Mumbai

Ganapati sthaapna

Ganapati Idol at Pune Ganesha Idol at Vadodara

Ganesha at Tamil Nadu

2011 India's Biggest Ganesha Murti (more than 70 feet) in Vishakhapatnam

Tamil dancers on the streets of Paris during 2009 Ganesha festival

An artist at work, Margao, Goa

GANAPATI VISARJAN (Immersion) at various places

Ganesha Visarjan in Mumbai Immersion in Hyderabad

Ganesha Chaturthi is an important festival of Maharashtra. It is celebrated by most Hindu households of Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, most Hindu families install their own small clay statues for worship on Ganesha Chaturthi. The idol is worshiped in every morning and evening until the "departure".worship involves various offerings to the idol including flowers and bunch of tender grass shoots called Durva.

Each durva bunch has 21 shoots. The shoots have either three or five strands. Other offerings like modak also have to number 21 in Ganesha worship,The daily worship ceremonies ends with the worshipers singing the Aarti in honour of Ganesha, other Gods and saints. The Ganesha Aarti sung in Maharashtra was composed by the 17th century, saint Ramdas.

As per the tradition of their respective families; the domestic celebrations come to an end after 1,3,5,7 or 11 days The statue is taken in a procession to a large body of water such as a river or the sea for immersion. Due to environmental concerns, a number of families now avoid the large water bodies and instead immerse the statue in a bucket or tub at home. After a few days the clay is used in the home garden. In some cities, a public eco-friendly process is used for immersion.Though it is celebrated all over India, the maximum enthusiasm can be seen in Maharashtra.

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