Ganesh Chaturthi, Lord Ganesha’s birthday was celebrated with gaiety and grandeur at the Nerul Ashram on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. This prominent festival of the state of Maharashtra owes its revival to the efforts of our great national leader, Lokmanya Tilak. A festive mood pervades all over the state during the ten-day festival.

On the first day, a Mahaganapati Homam was conducted at 7.00 a.m. that was well-attended by local devotees. The installation ceremony was fixed for 10.30 a.m., wherein a wonderfully bedecked idol of the majestic Lord in all his finery and splendor was ushered in amidst chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Moraya’ and placed on a specially decorated shrine. Then the Arati was performed in front of the benevolent Lord! Devotees then chanted the Ganesha Ashtothram and the Lalita Sahasranama Stotram. The crowd dispersed after the Mahaprasad was served.

The five-day long festivities at the Ashram were well-attended by devotees who participated in the Arati daily at 9.00 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. Bhajans in praise of the great God were sung by devotees and local bhajan groups. A wide array of sweets like the modak and the laddoo were made as offerings at the Lord’s feet. Flower garlands adorned Him, while the ‘durva’ grass, said to have a purifying effect, had a special place in the puja paraphernalia.

On the fifth day, the day of ‘visarjan’ or the final immersion of the Ganapati idol in water, a large procession of devotees sang and danced along, as the Lord was laden on a tempo and carried to the nearby pond. After a final Arati, the majestic Lord’s idol was cast into the waters of the pond, even as devotees tearfully beseeched Him to come back soon next year! ‘Pudchya varshi laukar Yaa! Ganpati Bappa Moraya!