Mumbai: Devotion and decorations on display as Ganesh festival begins
The Hindu
Mumbai celebrates 10-day Ganesh festival w/ idols, decorations, processions, police presence & more. People throng shopping spots for decor, puja materials.
Mumbai is steeped in devotion to welcome the annual homecoming of Lord Ganesh as the 10-day festival began on September 19 amid fanfare and gaiety.
Idols in various shapes and sizes were installed at several households and in pandals against the backdrop of elaborate decorations based on myriad themes ranging from the Chandrayaan-3 launch to Ayodhya's Ram Mandir.
Families, including children as well as senior citizens, stepped out of their homes early morning to bring their beloved "bappa" home amid chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya" and the beating of drums.
Many people were seen carrying the idols of Lord Ganesh in autorickshaws, cars, and other modes of transport.
Several politicians and celebrities from Bollywood install idols of the deity of wisdom and knowledge in their homes every year.
While many famous Ganeshas are installed in pandals in the early morning hours in Mumbai, including the most famous Lalbaugcha Raja, many idols were being taken out from workshops to the pandals in processions.
People will be allowed to take darshan of the deity at pandals after the puja is performed as per the muhurat, an organiser said.
No room for complacency till counting is completed, Chandrababu Naidu tells TDP-BJP-JSP contestants. The TDP-BJP-JSP alliance will register a comfortable victory in the general elections over the YSRCP, he says. Alleging that the YSRCP has conspired to create disturbances on the counting day, the TDP national president advises the chief counting agents and their teams to see to it that the officials adhere to norms related to counting.