Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrating the Lord of the Masses

Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of Lord Ganesha.

- Purvi Talreja

 It is celebrated in August and September every year for ten days. This festival is about Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity, and his arrival on earth with his mother from Mount Kailash. The festival begins by bringing Lord Ganesh's statue/murti and installing it in homes or publically. It ends after ten days when the murti is immersed in a water body like a lake or ocean, also known as visarjan. It is said that after visarjan, he returns to Mount Kailash to his parents, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Lord Ganesha is the first God worshiped before new beginnings, big or small. This depicts how important he is and how auspicious his presence is. He is referred to as the "lord of an invocation," "guardian of the multitudes," "god of success," "god of intelligence," and "obstacle remover." "Gana" means "people;" therefore, he is called Ganapati or Ganesh, meaning "lord of the masses."