Ganesh Chaturthi is a religious festival observed by Hindus to celebrate the birth of Lord Ganesha (the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati).
In 2015, it was observed on Thursday, 17th September. Ganpati festival is celebrated with much fanfare and devotion across the country. Lord Ganpati is known to help in auspicious beginnings and remove all obstacles from one’s path.
It was ten loud, excited, and tiring days of Pujas, processions, endless drum-slamming, dense and sugary sweets, and heavily decorated Ganesh idols everywhere you walked.
The festival actually didn't start on the 17th but at least one month before : the idols were built and given shape in huge huts made of bamboo.
The Ganesh idols made of clay by skilled artisans are beautifully decorated and come in a variety of bright and pretty colours like pink, orange, yellow, gold, green and blue.
Groups of men (and occasionally some women) carried huge drums, tied around their waists, and played with force and enthusiasm every single night of those 11 days !
The celebration goes on for ten days and on the 11th day, the festival comes to an end and the statue is taken for immersion. This procession is one of the most colourful and lively things I will ever saw and experienced.
There are people dancing and singing, all enveloped in colourful gulaal (colour powders), leading the procession with much fanfare. The idols are then immersed in a river, sea or any water body to signify his journey while everybody shouts “Ganpati Bappa Morya” (stay with us until the next year/next year come early).
