GANESH FESTIVAL
Lord Ganesh is a very ancient deity of people in India and especially those in Maharashtra state. It is a deity of talent and enjoys the privilege of the first order while worshipping on any occasion. Worshipping is offerring prayers to any god.
It is an elephant headed god. There are some stories being told by generations over centuries, behing how this god got an elephant's head. There are many more stories of the battles fought by and victories of Ganesh during his childhood and even after getting grown up.
There are many appearances of Lord Ganesh, located at many places in Maharashtra state and other states of India. However, his appearances at eight, selected places have got special importance and recognition. Those are collectively called ASHTA VINAYAK , emphasizing eight roles played by Lord Ganesh at various times, whenever needed.
People in India celebrate a special festival of Lord Ganesh, spanning over 5 to 10 days in a year. As per Hindu calendar system, (called Shaalivaahan Shake), this festival starts on the fourth day of Bhadrapad Shukla fortnight. This day is called Shree Ganesh Chaturthee. It continues till the fourtheenth day of Bhadrapad Shukla fortnight. This day is called Anant Chaturdashee. I shall explain this calendar system separately. For the time being, consider that this festival is celebrated during August-September months of the Gregorian calendar system.
This festival is celebrated by families (in households) as well as by people groups (organizations called Utsav Mandals) at public places. Families have a choice to celebrate it for 11/2 days, 5 days, 7 days or 10 days. The celebration at public places, by societies or organizations, generally lasts for either 5 days or 10 days. However, once a particular duration is selected, it remains same (unaltered) for years.
Public celebration in Mumbai, Kalyan and Pune cities attracts huge crowd for artistic decoration done by the members of respective organizations. Mumbai is famous for huge sizes of idols, Kalyan is famous for real artwork and Pune is famous for electrical lighting. Nowadays, a lot of foreign people also visit these cities to view and experience the celebration of Ganesh Festival. Not just this, people outside India and even those of non-Indian origin also are known to worship Lord Ganesh for years and now have started celebrating Ganesh Festival just like Indians do in India.