Coastal Karnataka readies for Ganesh Chaturthi revelry

Mangalore, August 31: With only a few hours to go for the arrival of Ganesha, in the Hindu households, the preparations for the annual Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chavthi festival, have reached their peak.

Although Ganesh Chaturthi festival commences on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, it begins a day earlier with married woman worshipping Gauri or Parvati, the mother of Ganesha.

A walk round the city revealed market thronged by festival shoppers, buying various festival linked items from pulses and cereals to vegetables, fruits and sugarcanes, to decorative items and fireworks.

Despite soaring prices of essential commodities and various difficulties arising in the day-to-day life, the devotees are seen to be eagerly waiting for the arrival of the deity.

Setting a joyous and celebration mood everywhere, the Ganapathi idol makers at some of the places in the city like Car Street and Mannagudda too are carrying out their task of Ganesha idol preparation in a full swing.

The idols of Ganesha in various avatars line up on the main streets well ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi, enabling the buyers to choose according to their wish.

Prabhakar Rao from Mannagudda who belongs to the famous idol making family of Late Mohan Rao said that he has received hundreds of orders for Ganesh idol preparation this year. “It is for the 74th year that our family is preparing Ganapathi idols. We design idols for Sanghaniketan, NMPT, Horticulture Department, KMF and MCF among others. The whole family is involved in this idol making process since two months and we do it with devotion, keeping aside the profit motive,” says Prabhakar Rao.

Special elaborate meals are prepared on the occasion, along with traditional sweetmeats like payasam, obbattu, kadubu, sweetened milk of coconut and so on.

Music also forms an integral part of the celebrations with aartis or songs of praise of the deity sung by the devotees during the worship. Bhaktigeetas or devotional songs, too are sung before Ganesha, with the accompaniment of musical instruments.

Sarvajanik or community Ganeshotsavas currently is working round the clock to present the respective Ganeshotsava pandals, in the most impressive way.