It’s been 2 days since we are back at our little home in the mountains. On both days, we had regular office work to finish. Although we had the limitation of no nearby sweet shop and other important things required for Pooja in Aleo, I still wanted to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.
Today is Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu festival widely celebrated in the Maharashtra state and nowadays is celebrated across India. Ganesh is the offspring of Lord Shiva and Goddess Paravati. It is a 10-day festival, and the first day is celebrated as the birth of Ganesh. With hearts filled with joy, people bring Ganesh’s idol home. They decorate it with flowers, leaves, and other creative ways. A pooja is performed followed by prasad ( Modak – sweet dumplings made up of coconut, jaggery, etc.) distribution. The first day is popularly known as Ganesh Stapna.
Ganpati is believed to take away obstacles from our house and these obstacles are destroyed with the Visarjan i.e. 10th day. On this day, Ganpati’s idols are carried to a nearby river in huge processions accompanied by drumbeats, devotional singing, and dancing.
Best place to celebrate Ganpati in India
Maharashtra – Mumbai, and Pune
Month – ~August – September ( Check dates on the Hindu calendar for the year )
Roasting gram flour ( besan ) with Ghee
I had taken an early shower and cleaned the kitchen to prepare prasad. Ranjan had no idea what I was doing, he tasted prasad and my efforts went in vain. He felt so bad upon realizing it. Without wasting any time, we prepared another round of prasad with the same dedication and purity.
Adding sugar in the roasted gram flour
Besan Laddus ( gram flour sweet dumplings ) are ready.
Used my iPad in place of Ganesh’s idol
Ganesh idol was unavailable in my area
Pooja, aarti and prasadam
Had to prepare besan laddu instead of modak
We haven’t done Ganpati Stapna but a routine pooja. My iPad is not going in Visarjan 🙂
Ganpati Bappa Mauriya! 🙂 🙂 🙂
CurlyGirlyTravely 