Ganesh'Chaturthi
Event Start Date : 01/09/2024 Event End Date 30/09/2024
Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: Gaṇeśa Caturthī), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi (Vināyaka Caturthī) or Vinayaka Chavithi (Vināyaka Cavithī) or Vinayagar Chaturthi (Vināyagar Caturthī), is a Hindu festival birthday of Hindu deity Ganesha.[1] The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay murtis (devotional representations of a deity) privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting).[1] Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha.[2][3] The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 Murtis are immersed annually.[4] Thereafter the clay Murti dissolves and Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.[1][5]