More about Ganesh Chaturthi

Lord Ganesh, the elephant headed God is the favourite God of many Hindus and is worshipped for his ability to remove obstacles and bring good fortune. The festival in honour of Ganesh, also known as Ganesh Chaturthi and Ganpati is observed during the Hindu calender month of Bhaadrapada, and begins on the 4th day of the waxing moon (Shukla Chaturthi)  This means that the festival starts on a different date each year. In 2010 the festival ran from 11th to 22nd September, but in 2011 it will begin on 1st September   www.when-is.com

The festival is celebrated mainly in the States of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerela, Andhara Pradesh and Goa, and is especially spectacular in the city of Mumbai. While many families have their own small Ganesh idol within their home communities spend thousands of rupees competing with each other to build the most impressive display.Thousands of devotees tour the city during the ten day festival, enjoying the spectacle as well as reciting mantras and making offerings of flowers, fruit, coconuts or coins.

Lord Ganesh

While the idol provides a visible form for prayer, Hindus also believe that the universe is in a constant state of change, and form eventually gives way to formlessness.The immersion into water of all the Ganesh statues symbolises this idea as the statues, which are made from clay dissolve back into the sea, river or lake.While most of the large idols remain on show for the full ten days of the festival and are immersed on the final day  (Ananta Chaturdasi) many of the smaller idols are immersed during the second  or fifth days. On September 13th the Mumbai edition of the Hindustan Times reported that 51,848 idols had been immersed from the beaches around Mumbai during the previous day!