Anant Chaturthi, the festival which marks the end of the 10-day long Ganesha Festival, draws a huge crowd of devotees. Mumbai is popular for hosting some of the most famous Ganpati festivals and mandals.
Pic Courtesy: Gaurav Gawand
Anant Chaturdashi marks the culmination of 11-day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. On this day, devotes across the country will say goodbye to the Ganpati idols, which were being worshipped at houses and public pandals during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The term used for this is called ‘visarjan’, which in Hindi language means submerging the idols in water bodies such as rivers and seas.
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While most devotees associate Anant Chaturdashi with Ganesh Visarjan, the festival is also the day to worship Lord Vishnu in his ‘Anant’ form. Devotees of Lord Vishnu observe a day long fast and tie sacred thread during Puja.
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It is believed that sacred thread protects devotees from all sorts of trouble. As part of the visarjan, devotees offer coconuts, flowers and sweets to the idols of Lord Ganesha. With chants and prayers, the statues are taken to nearby water bodies. Public pandals hold huge processions for the visarjan.
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People say goodbye to their favourite Lord Ganesha with a heavy heart, accompanied by nostalgia and a lot of emotion.
(Pic Courtesy: PTI)
