As India celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi, we take a look at some interesting
and lesser known facts about this famous festival.
Lord Ganesha - the Hindu deity in a
human form but with the head of an elephant - represents the power of the
Supreme Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors.
For this reason, Hindus worship Ganesha first before beginning any religious,
spiritual or worldly activity. In Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the first
son of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother Parvati. Their second son is Lord
Subramanya and their daughter is Jyoti. As explained below, the portrayal of
Lord Ganesha as the blend of human and animal parts symbolizes the ideals of
perfection as conceived by Hindu sages and illustrates some philosophical
concepts of profound spiritual significance.
1. In 1893, revolutionary freedom
fighter Lokmanya Tilak urged the masses to come together to celebrate Ganesh
Chaturthi. His main motive was to inculcate the feeling of patriotism among
people at a time when British discouraged social gatherings.
2. In India, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated
in the grandest form in Maharashtra, Karnataka and parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Outside India, it’s widely celebrated in Nepal’s Terai region, and by Hindus in
UK, US and Mauritius etc.
3. Traditionally the idols were sculpted
out of mud. They were eventually immersed in water as the festival drew to an
end. But like this they were sculpted again every year to celebrate the
festival. Though the ritual of immersion continues, sadly Plaster of Paris
(PoP), that is used nowadays for idol-making contains mercury and cadmium,
is hugely contributing to water pollution.
4. In 2014, there were 10,000 Ganesh idols in
the pandals of
Mumbai alone. According to statistics, the number of Ganesh idols brought home
last year was 1,80,650 and the number is significantly increasing each year.
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