Ganesh Chaturthui   

The festival of Ganesh or Vinayak Chaturthi, the day on which Ganesh was born. It is the most joyous event of the year . Throughout India the festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm and devotion. This ten-day festival, dedicated to Ganesha, is celebrated from the fourth to the fourteenth day in the bright fortnight of Bhadrapad, it is specially important in Maharashtra and is one of the cultural highlights of the state. LokManya Tilak, the illustrious freedom fighter of Maharashtra, popularised this festival.

The festival begins on the fourth day of Bhadrapad, which is celebrated as Ganesha Chaturthi in the rest of India. This day is very important to all Hindus, who believe that by praying to the remover of obstructions, people hope to dispel all obstacles from their lives. Some people believe that this was the day Ganesha was born.         

Before the ten-day rite begins, the house and devotees must acquire a superlative state of purity. This is accomplished by cleaning or whitewashing the house or at least the place where the idol is to be placed. Worshippers bathe and the priest wears a silken lower garment, usually red, with a shawl around his shoulders. The puja begins at the time designated according to calculations based on the ritual calendar. The ceremony begins by placing the image, usually made of terracotta, in a sacred arena, symbolic of a throne. The worshipper then sips holy water and performs pranayama; he then bows and prostrates before Ganesha and all the other gods. This is followed by the Sankalpa Mantra

The priest then performs a ritual by which the idol is said to be imbued with life. Next follows the traditional puja. This completes the rituals of the first day. For the remaining days, the image is worshipped, morning and evening with simple recitations of the Ganesha Stuti, devotional songs, offerings of flowers and incense, and lamps. 

After ten days of ritual worship, the god returns to his heavenly abode and his image is immersed in water. The farewell procession is a pandemonium of musicians, dancers, acrobats, singers, priests, onlookers and numerous Ganesha idols from a number of houses and temples. All join in the procession to the final destination at the ghats of a river or the ocean in Mumbai and other coastal areas. Shouts of 'Ganapathi bappa Moraya, Purchya varshi laukariya' or 'beloved Ganesha, Lord of Moraya, come again early next year' resound all around. The immersion ritual is simple. Final gifts of coconuts, flowers and burning camphor cubes are offered to the idol, accompanied by the singing of aratis. Then a few people carry it far enough into the river to immerse it, where it quickly dissolves. The Ganesha Utsav immersion marks the end of the ten-day festival.

The festival is not just restricted to homes. In fact, most areas in Maharashtra organize their own programmes. The local communities install huge, elaborately decorated statues of the idol in glamorous tents. In some places, the idol is adorned with precious gems and gold, which requires strict police vigil. Other than the ritual worship of the idol, the ten days also feature many cultural activities, including the singing of devotional songs, dramatic performances, dances, films, lectures and speeches by various public figures. Lezam and acrobatics are two of the most popular performances during these ten days.