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Hindus celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi

     Mumbai: The Hindus here today chanted hymns and beat drums to celebrate "Ganesh Chaturthi", the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God and son of Lord Shiva, one of the Trinities. During the ten-day festival, idols of Ganesha, easily one of the best-loved gods in the Hindu pantheon, will grace Hindu households all over the country. "We have been preparing for this festival for over a month and half now. First we arrange for cultural programmes to honour him and then the decorations etc. It has been over a month," Dhiren Pathak, a devotee said. Huge idols of Ganesha are made for the festival, some of them over 20 feet tall (six metres) costing up to Rs.100,000. Over 20,000 artisans get jobs in Mumbai alone before the festival each year. For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair, celebrated within homes. But at the turn of the 20th century, freddom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda and unity.
-Sep 18, 2004