Ganesh Chaturthi festival is one of the biggest festivals celebrated throughout the country. Under the shadow of devotion for Lord Ganesha, this festival also promotes cultural unity among masses. The name Ganapati only means “Group Ruler.”
The festival marks the arrival of Lord Ganesha to earth from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati also known as Gauri. The celebrations continue for the following ten days and on the tenth day when the idol of Ganpati Bappa is immersed in a nearby water body, it is said that Ganeshji returns to Mount Kailash back to his parents Shiv and Parvati.
The tradition of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi publicly is said to exist since the era of Shivaji Maharaj. The British rule tried to fade out the tradition during their rule but the efforts of Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak paid off and the festival was revived.
This year, however, the scare of the pandemic has taken a toll on Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. Since people cannot come together in numbers and pay homage to their beloved lord, the essence of the festival has also faded a bit. Restrictions have been laid on public gatherings and even on the size of Idols.
Still, the might and love of people for Lord Ganesha continues. People will stay indoors and with their families will pray to their Vignahartha (the one who removes obstacles) to put away all the sufferings and bring back the days where people can move freely and visit their loved ones. Lord Ganesha is known to his believers as the God of new beginnings as well as the God of intelligence and wisdom.
Music is also a very prominent part of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. It starts with Bhajans and devotional songs like “Shree Sidhivinayak Deva”, “Ganpati Bappa Morya”,”Jai Ganesh Deva”. Ganpati Aarti is performed every morning and evening. The sense of togetherness and symphony during a Ganesh Aarti is unmatched.
The association of Ganesh Chaturthi and Modaks is also long-lived. Modak is said to be the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha. Made of rice flour, with a filling of jaggery and coconut, Modak is prepared as an offering to the Lord and is also shared among family and friends.
For the past few years, Ganesh pandals and thousands of families have taken the oath of bringing home eco-friendly Ganesh Idols with a view to protecting water bodies from being contaminated by chemicals and plaster of Paris. We at Saregama also support this initiative and request you to be a contributor to the environment in any way possible.
The level of happiness that goes into Ganpati celebrations may feel a bit less this year with the absence of your close family members and friends, but your spirits may always be high.
Saregama Carvaan Mini Bhakti is the perfect audio player for an occasion like Ganesh Chaturthi. You can listen to pre-loaded Ganesh Bhajans like, “Deva Ho Deva”, “Riddhi Siddhi Dayak” and many more. The portable mini audio player also has some exclusive features like Bluetooth connectivity to play Ganesh Aarti and songs of your choice. You can download high-quality mp3 songs from saregama website.
The Carvaan Mini Bhakti is also great for a gift of appreciation for your special Ganpati visitors. The audio player with great sound quality can be carried in your pocket even during the visarjan proceedings.
This year, we will miss all the dancing and chanting “Ganpati Bappa Morya” while we bid a goodbye to the Lord but till then, let’s pray our hearts out to Lord Ganesha for keeping us safe and for granting us the strength to overcome all the difficulties through these tough and testing times.