22/08/2020
Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi, is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesha to earth from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesh clay idols privately in homes, or publicly on elaborate pandals. Observations include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts such as, prayers and brata (fasting). Offerings and prasadam from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modaka as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesh. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea.