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Ganesh Chaturthi festival ends
by Susheel Parikh

     Mumbai: The finale of "Ganesh Chaturthi", a festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesh, came to an end on Thursday with the immersion of his statues. Ganesh signifies good omen and prosperity. Hundreds of thousands of people carrying the idols amidst the beating of drums and cymbals reached the city's beaches in processions and immersed them in the sea. People carried idols on their heads and danced on streets before immersing them in rivers. "We always take out the procession on the immersion day. A kind of peaceful feeling fills the air. On this day we pray for all, for the country and for the world in general," said Gajanak Modak, the chief priest of the Siddhivinayak Temple. Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath. Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode. When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods. For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair, celebrated within homes. But at the turn of the century, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from British rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda.
-Sept 16, 2005