Maharashtra wakes up to 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' chants as Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations begin

Amid chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’, people of Mumbai and Maharashtra welcomed Lord Ganesha on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on Saturday marking the beginning of the 11-day-long Ganeshutsav.

However, the usual extravaganza attached to the festival was missing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the coastal Konkan belt have been receiving heavy rainfall for the past few days.

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The viral pandemic and downpour, however, could not dampen the spirit of people.

The elephant-headed-pot-bellied Lord Ganesha was welcomed in homes, housing complexes, public mandals and villages with traditional fervour.

Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, is worshipped as the God of new beginnings, remover of obstacles as well as wisdom and intelligence. Although it is unknown when Ganesh Chaturthi was first observed, the festival has been publicly celebrated in Pune since the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary Maratha warrior.

After the start of the British Raj, the Ganesh festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration in Maharashtra.

In 1892, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari aka Bhau Lakshman Jawle, a royal physician, organised the first public Ganesh festival in Pune.

In 1893, the festival saw a revival by revolutionary freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Pune and Mumbai.

The first Ganesh festival in Mumbai was organised by Keshavji Naik Chawl in Girgaum in 1893. Since then, the festival has grown bigger – but the Covid-19 pandemic and in the new normal things have changed – and so as the festival.

In 1896, the plague epidemic cast a shadow on the festival in Mumbai. At that time also, the celebrations were subdued and people used photographs of Lord Ganesh to offer prayers since the idols could not be made. Now, 2020 is witnessing a subdued celebration in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Maharashtra government has restricted the height of idols to 2 feet for homes and 4 feet for public celebrations. Otherwise, some of the idols of Lord Ganesha are taller than 20-feet plus. Also, maintaining physical distancing is a must.

Ganesha festival is the biggest festival of Maharashtra – with the golden triangle of Mumbai Metropolitan Region-Pune-Nashik being the epicentre of the celebrations.

Several Ganesh mandals organised blood and plasma donation camps to supplement the efforts of the government in fighting the pandemic.

In various temples of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, pujas were performed seeking the blessings of Lord Ganesha, however, the public was not allowed because of Covid-19 restrictions. Several people took darshans standing outside temples including the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai and Daghusheth Halwai in Pune.

"We have made arrangements for online darshans," said Aadesh Bandekar, chairman of Shree SiddhiVinayak Temple Trust of Mumbai.