Ganesh Chaturthi – Mumbai Resonates with the Sound Ganpati Bappa Moriya

Ganesh Chaturthi is a great Hindu festival celebrated on the birth day of the elephant headed god Lord Ganesha. It falls on the Hindu month of Bhadrapada i.e. late August or early September depending on the cycle of moon. It is celebrated for 10 days with heavy celebrations on the last day known as Anant Chaturdasi. Lord Ganesha is worshipped on this festival as he is believed to remove all the obstacles. This festival is celebrated with great pomp and show across the globe by Hindu communities, but the Indian city of Mumbai stands at the top for the greatest celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi.

This festival was introduced in Mumbai by Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja but it was freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak who transformed it into a public event in 1893 to fill the gap between different communities, castes etc. The main reason behind it was to unite all the people living in Mumbai. The tradition is carried on till today with more people participating on it and competing to put the best idols in their area. 

In Mumbai not only the people of Hindu community but large number of people from varied communities come together to celebrate this festival and make it into a grand success. The whole city is adorned with decorative along with their home; each and every Mumbaikar can be seen in a festive mood during the celebration. The top places in Mumbai where this festivity is celebrated with great grandeur are Mumbaicha Raja, Andhericha Raja, and Khetwadi Ghanraj etc. In these places the idols are decorated using golds and diamonds and are made up to a height of 40 feet. 

On the first day the idol is kept over a base that denotes a throne and it is tracked by a priest who performs the rituals devoted to the idol. Before offering Modak (sweetened ladoo) along with incense and flowers to god, it is dipped in the holy water. After days, the idol is being worshipped with Ganesh Stuti and devotional songs (bhajans) in the sunset and sunrise. Along with programmes which are organized at various places, people also set up idols at homes and pays their greetings to god and ask for wishes.  During this festival season everywhere you will hear the resonating sound “Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Mangalmurti Morya”.

On the tenth day farewell procession for taking the idol into the watering bodies are accompanied by lots of famed singers, priests and dancers as it is believed that god leaves for heavenly abode after visiting. Sweets, ladoos, aarti, flowers and other delicacies are offered to god before immersing in the Arabian Sea. People enchant saying ‘Ganapati Bappa-Maurya’ following the farewell procession. The most famous immersion takes place on Chowpatti Beach which is positioned 1 km away from the Marine Drive, large number of people flock to observe the majestic Visarjan.

Negative Impact of Ganesh Chaturthi:

The grave impact of the festival on the atmosphere is due to the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris into various sources of water including sea, lakes, rivers etc. It takes place on the last day of this festival. With the contamination of water sources which affects the environment, the floras and faunas are also hugely affected as lakes and rivers are used by them for water sources. Animals, birds, marine life along with people of rural area are mostly affected. Heavy metals like mercury and cadmium which are used to adorn the idols cause water pollution. Among others, noise pollution is also the outcome of this festival. Traffic jams is another problem and above all these problems, security is the major problem during the festival season as the festival is celebrate with great vigor and pomp, but every individual has the fear of terror attack. With such a huge crowd coming together, it becomes very difficult for the management to provide security, but even though, India government put all its efforts to avoid and ensures that such unexpected incidents does not occur.

Janmashtami - Celebration to Remember the Wordly Facade of Lord Krishna

Janmashtami Also known as Krishnasthami, it is an annual celebration of Hindu deity Lord Krishna, the eight avatar of Lord Vishnu. It is celebrated by Hindus and is observed with great pomp and show in particularly in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and in some parts of Caribbean. It is celebrated in the eight day of the Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). Mischievousness, adorableness, compassionate friendship and romanticism are the major aspects of him which are celebrated on this particular day. 

Janmashtami memorializes the worldly facade of Lord Krishna. It is one of the biggest religious festivals in the world celebrated approximately by 930 million people around the world with 2 million alone in the US. To devotees, it’s the completion of running year and commencement of a fresh year. Homes and streets are ornamented with beautiful decorative, all the people of Hindus community and also of other communities comes together to celebrate this annual event.

In various parts of India, kids dress like Krishna whether to take part in some fancy dress competition or to break the ‘matka’ during a societal celebration. People fast all through the day and show their affection and fondness to the Lord and break fasting at the midnight, it is celebrated with devotional songs, dances, pujas, aarti, blowing of the conch, and rocking the cradle of the baby Sri Krishna. Actually, the celebration takes place during midnight as he was believed to be born on a gloomy, fiery, and blustery night.

 Key Places for Celebrations in India:

Mathura and Vrindavan: Mathura is the birth place of Krishna and is one of the major places for Janmashtami celebration. He was grown up in Vrindavan. A total of 8 lakhs visitors visit this city during this celebration. The major celebration takes place in the actual place of Lord’s birth which is now turned into a mammoth temple, Krishna Janma Bhoomi Mandir. The birth of Lord is celebrated with Pooja, bathing with milk and curd and then rocked in a cradle. Raasleelas (dance drama which is offered by professionals and amateurs), Jhanki (it depicts the activities of Lord like Janmlila, Shankarlila, Putanalila and Naglila), Jhulanotsav (swings are set to welcome his birth) and Ghatas (temples and all other decorations including Lord’s attire are done with a selected or same colour) are carried out after the birth ceremony. Kheer, Laddoo, Shrikhand etc. are deliciously prepared on this day. Securities are tightened at various temples of Mathura and Vrindavan during this celebration.     

Mumbai: Numerous residents of Mumbai come alive to celebrate the Janmashtami with larger than life ceremony; every Mumbaikar (resident of Mumbai) celebrates this festivity with great enthusiasm. ‘Dahi Handi’ event is organized at various venues and societies which are also attended by Bollywood personalities. Enchanting the tune ‘Govinda ala re’, the participants for the event prove their mettle by breaking the ‘Matka’ which is places at the top of the by lanes of metropolis. They form like a human pyramids and stood up on top of one another to break it. The participant efforts are dissatisfied by the people congregated in the venue by wetting them with water. The idea behind this event is the boy-hood trick of stealing butter from a suspended earthen pot by Lord Krishna.

Manipur: It is celebrated by Manipuri as Krishna Janma; disciples congregate at various temples including ISKCON, International Society for Krishna Consciousness Temple and Govindaji Temple. Raasleelas are performed by them, in Manipuri style.

Apart from Mumbai, and Mathura it is well celebrated in Northern and Western India, South India etc. It is celebrated with equal zest and joy in all of India chanting ‘Hare Rama Hare Rama Hare Krishna Hare Krishna’.