HE is coming to town !

He is coming to town on September 3rd this 2008. It happens to be holiday locally & as well as non working day for Banks. This above snap I took today evening at Joshi Mangal Karyalaya - a exihibition cum marriage hall in the town where the Ganesh Idols were made available for sale. These were the original forms being made of the special clay by name "sadoo" at the area called Pen in Maharashtra state of India. I have been observing that now, year after year it has become "difficult" to find them and what is most prominently available are Ganesh Idols made from the Plastor of Paris. Price disparity is one of the most crucial factor contributing to it. Serious aspects such as environment hazard, less employment generation due to the newer form of idos of plastor of paris, looks though have been finally concluded to be the as usual matter of very little concern by most of us.

Let me further share with you, that "Ganesh Chaturthi" is a festival that is celebrated in almost each and every household of Maharashtra, India. Though it is celebrated in other states of India as well, the scale of celebration in Maharashtra is simply overwhelming. Lord Ganesha is the patron deity of the state and He is believed to bestow good luck and remove the obstacles from the life of an individual. The lord is worshipped by all the Maharashtrians with great devotion and faith. Ganesh Chaturthi Festival falls in the month of August and lasts for around 10 days.

Ganesha Mahotsav begins with the installation of an idol of Lord Ganesha at home. Through the days that follow, the idol is worshipped daily by the family members as well as their friends, relatives and even neighbors, who come to have darshan of the Lord. On the tenth day i.e. the final, a procession of the idol is taken, right from the home to the nearest water body (sea, river, lake, etc), amidst the chanting of the phrase 'Ganapati Bappa Morya'. Throughout the way, faithful devotees dance to the sound of drumbeats and play with dry colors, mainly red color. On this day, you can find almost all the streets in Maharashtra, which lead to some water source, full of enthusiastic people. The procession comes to an end with the immersion of the idol, again amidst the chanting of the words 'Ganapati Bappa Morya', through which people ask the Lord Ganesha to come back the next year.