Mumbai: Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival celebrating the birth of the Hindu deity Ganesha ends today. The past ten days have been abuzz with Ganeshotsav celebrations comprising devotees thronging pandals, chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya and feasting on sweets such as modak –much like the deity being celebrated, for whom it is a particular favorite. With much enthusiasm, devotees today bid farewell to the elephant-headed god with the ritualistic immersion of idols big and small in artificial ponds, lakes, rivers and the Arabian Sea, sending him onward to Mount Kailash.
When Lord Ganesh came home, it was celebrated with much fanfare, and now as he bids adieu, it is being celebrated across the country with much enthusiasm with the belief that he will come back again next year. Anant Chaturthi, the festival which marks the end of the 10-day long Ganesha Festival draws a huge crowd of devotees.
People say goodbye to their favorite Lord Ganesha with a heavy heart, accompanied by nostalgia and a lot of emotion. The festival begins with Pranapratishhtha, that involves chanting of mantras by a priest. This is followed by a ritual, which includes the 16-step Shodashopachara Puja, where the elephant god’s favorite dishes are offered to the idol. These include modak, shrikhand, coconut rice, motichoor laddoo, payasam, and medu vada.
Mumbai is popular for hosting some of the most famous Ganpati festivals and mandals. Even Bollywood celebrities come together and celebrate this festival. People who live far away from their home often go back to celebrate and get together with their families.
At least 50,000-odd personnel will be out on the streets on Thursday, with help from outstation personnel and other police units. Around 5,630 sarvajanik idols and 31,072 household idols are likely to be immersed across 129 visarjan spots in the city. These spots mainly include all chowpatties and beaches in the city.
The immersion of Ganesh idols was underway across Telangana with a mammoth procession in Hyderabad amid tight security on Thursday. More than 50,000 idols, majority of them in Hyderabad and outskirts, are being immersed in water bodies, marking the culmination of the 10-day festivities.
Director General of Police M. Mahender Reddy said 35,000 policemen were deployed in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police commissioners, covering the state capital and the outskirts.
The police chief said one lakh idols were installed across the state this year and half of them will be immersed on Thursday. The process is likely to continue till Friday afternoon.
The biggest immersion procession in Hyderabad as thousands of idols from various parts of the city and surrounding areas were brought for immersion to Hussain Sagar lake located in the heart of the city.
Tens of thousands of people were participating in the ‘Shobha yatra’ or the centralized procession from Balapur on Hyderabad fringes to Hussain Sagar.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the procession at Moazzam Jahi Market, Hyderabad in the evening. Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS), which has been organizing the procession since 1980, has invited the RSS chief.
Police have made additional security arrangements in view of Bahgwat’s participation in the procession.
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