Ganesh Chaturthi Live Updates: Cricketer Brett Lee, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu And Other Leaders Celebrate Ganeshotsav

The 10-day long festival will end with end with Ananth Chaturdashi on September 23 this year. At the start of the puja, the Ganesha idol is worshipped every day and an arti is performed in the evening to round off the ritual.

Updated: September 13, 2018 4:10 PM IST

By Roma Das

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New Delhi: Ganesh Chaturthi, the birth of Lord Ganesha will be celebrated by people across India especially Maharashtra starting today, September 13. The fervour will continue for the next 10 days. People will install idols of Lord Ganesha in their homes and celebrate the festival with much joy and excitement.

The 10-day long festival will end with end with Ananth Chaturdashi on September 23 this year. At the start of the puja, the Ganesha idol is worshipped every day and an arti is performed in the evening to round off the ritual. During the festival, a 16 step ritual known as Shodashopachara Puja will be followed. Various offerings are made to Lord Ganesha as bhog. These include modak, shrikhand, coconut rice, motichoor laddoo, payasam, medu vada and a lot more. The primary sweet dish during the festival is the modak.

Apart from that, there are temporary pandals built all across cities for the general public. The idol is immersed in water on the last day. Those who wish to may immerse the idol on the second, fifth and seventh days of the festival.

Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed god with small eyes, large ears and four hands. He holds an axe in the right upper hand which signifies cutting off all bonds of attachments, a rope in the upper left hand to pull you nearer to the highest goal. The lower right hand signifies blessings or protecting the spiritual path of the supreme and he holds a modak in his lower left hand which signifies reward for meditation.

This year, the latest attraction in Lalbaug is Chinchpokli’s Chintamani. Although Ganesh Chaturthi is observed across the nation, states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh see special celebrations. Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati is known as the God of wisdom, a symbol of new beginnings, the remover of obstacles and the deity of good fortune.

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