Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
The ten-day long Ganesh festival kicked off with zeal and fervour across Maharashtra, and the rest of the nation on Thursday, 13 September.
The festival began with devotees bringing colourfully-crafted idols of the elephant-headed God in their homes and pandals and installing them amid chants of 'Ganapati bappa moraya', beating of drums and and sprinkling of 'gulal' (red coloured powder).
Several beautifully decked up pandals have been erected in all major cities and towns in the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur, where huge idols of Lord Ganesha have been placed on raised platforms for people to worship.
A 15-feet tall, 85-year-old idol was revealed at Lalbaugcha Raja and according to the Indian Express, it is believed that the idol is supposed to fulfil everyone’s wishes.
In Hyderabad, a sweets company prepared a laddoo weighing 580 kgs to be brought to the Khairatabad Ganesh Mandap.
The festival saw devotees offering various sweets as prasad to the deity, of which 'modak' (sweet rice flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery) is an integral part.
According to Hindu mythology, modak is believed to be Lord Ganesha's favourite sweet. As per the rituals, 21 modaks are offered to the God and eventually served to devotees.
The festival will conclude on 23 September.
(With inputs from PTI)
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