Celebrate India - The many colours of Ganesh Chaturthi It is usually the charm of a particular destination that goads an average

individual to travel. However, for a true travel aficionado its not the destination that holds much charm but the events taking place in that destination that makes him pack his bags. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is one such event that draws millions of people from all around the world to the beaches of Mumbai, every year. If the Brazilians have their Rio Carnival then we Indians have the Ganesh Chaturthi. Which, trust me, is by no means any lesser of a spectacle. This festival celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, son of Lord Shiva & Parvati, who is worshipped as the God of wisdom,prosperity and good fortune. The festival usually falls between 20th of August & 15th of September (this time around it is on the 1st of September). The historical importance of this festival is as crucial as its religious importance (although most people might not be aware of it today). Though, the origins ofGanesh Chaturthi can be traced back thousands of years to the StavhanaEmpire but its resurgence is attributed to the Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak. He recognized the mass appeal of this festival and popularized it in order to bring together all castes and communities, especially Brahmins and non-Brahmins, to facilitate a feeling of unity amongst the masses. However, his main purpose was to ignite a nationalistic feeling in the masses by bringing them together in a time when the British authorities discouraged social and political gatherings. The fruits of the seeds that Tilaksowed can be tasted even today in the feeling of unity that pervades in the air during the festival where not only Hindus but Muslims, Christians, Jains and others as well join in the festivities. Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest event of the entire year for the state ofMaharashtra. Although the festival is 10 days long, the preparations start well in advance. 10 days is too long a time to skip office but I still managed to get leave for 3 days so that I could be there for the Ganesh Visarjan. By the way,Ganesh Visarjan is the 11th day of the festival when they submerge the idol of Lord Ganesha in the river or the sea and this marks the end of the festival. Oops! in my excitement I jumped yet again right to the end so let me start from the beginning. So, as I mentioned, I was there 2 days before the Visarjan and what I observed was not that different from how we celebrate Durga Puja - there is daily pooja for 10 days straight. During that time I got to see plenty ofcoconut, jaggery, modak, durva (trefoil) blades of grass, red flowers, kumkumand sandalwood paste. The most interesting of these being south IndianModak sweets, which is the main sweet dish of the festival. It is a dumpling made from rice flour/ wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. It was so delectable; I was practically living off it during those three days. All this was fine but I was eagerly waiting for was the last day of Ganesh Visarjan. This is when all the mayhem and the madness descend upon the streets of Mumbai. People carry the same Lord Ganesha idols that they had installed in their homes for the daily pooja to submerge them in the river or the seawater. This symbolises the Lords journey towards his abode in MountKailash while he takes away with him the misfortunes of his devotees. There is singing and dancing and shouting and cheering and hooting and drumming all over the place and especially on the beaches, where the crowd is at its thickest. I am not sure how many of you have heard of the Ghaati dance, but if you have, you might be interested to know that it probably originated during this festival. The best part about this dance form is that it requires NO training and a complete lack of shame (I think I did a fairly good job at it!). Beware, it can be pretty untamed but if you take my word, thats where true essence of this dance is. All this is well and good, but nothing beats the star attraction - while I was on the beach I saw something that, till that day, I had seen only on television, the gigantic, 25 feet tall, idol of Lord Ganesha. I cant even begin to imagine the kind of time and artistic skill that must have been put into to making something like that. If it was up to me I would have put it up in a museum, It is such a pity that they had to submerge it. Make sure you dont miss this, otherwise it will be all for nothing. We make special trips for World Cup Finals, Dubai shopping festival, Special Award ceremonies, I say, why not try something little earthy for a change? After witnessing what I did, I can only suggest that you shouldnt wait for one of your trips to coincide with this festival. This festival is worth making all just for itself. Each time they submerge the idol, they chant, Ganpati bappa moray, pudcha warshi lavkar yaa something that upon translation, pretty much echoed my sentiment too Lord Ganesha, come back sooner next year with your love and blessings! Connect with Yatra.com on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well.