Ganpati Celebrations in Pune & Beyond

Compiled and Contributed by Umesh, Jessica, Jagdish & Abhijeet...

Glass Paintings By Poonam

Art by Poonam...

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Temples of Ganesha

Contributed by Vidya...

When we talk of Ganesha Temples, the first ones that cross our minds are the popular Ashtavinayaka Temples. But there are some other temples of the lord too that are of significance and historic importance. In this write-up we intend to introduce you to some such temples which might not be known to many.

Ganpati Temple at Redi

The Ganapati temple of Redi is located approximately 30 km from Vengurla, in the small village of Redi. The town in which this temple is situated contains manganese mines and the Ganpati idol was found in one of the mines near Rewati port in 1976. A local person by the name of Sadashiv Kambli supposedly visualized a buried statue of Lord Ganesha in his dream and convinced local workers to dig out the statue from the seashore. Now, after an investigation it has been found that the statue was made by the Pandava during their rule. The statue is approximately 6 ft in height and 4 ft in width. The Ganesh idol is in a sitting position and is Dwibhuja (two arms) as compared to rest of the idols which are generally Chaturbhuja (four arms). The mouse idol (vahana) was found on further excavation after two months.

Mahaganapati and Mahamaya Temple at Shirali

According to the Archaeological Survey of Goa, The idol of Mahaganapati and Mahamaya (also referred as Durgadevi and Shantadurga) were located in Ella - Tiswadi Goa along with Shri Gomanteshwar and its affiliates. 

During the Muslim invasion in Goa (13th century) the temple in Ella was destroyed and the images were transferred to Navelim and Goltim. Till the early 1500s the deities were worshiped on the island, following which they were prey to the Portuguese missionaries. 

The devotees had no choice but to transfer the images to Khandepar and from there to its final destination Khandola.

Mahaganapati Temple at Gokarna

Built in honour of Lord Ganesha, the temple is situated on the east side of the popular Mahabaleshwar Temple.

It is believed that the temple was constructed in awe of Lord Ganesha, who succeeded in taking the Atmalinga from Ravana. Lord Shiva then blessed Lord Ganesh the honour of the first worship. 

The temple features a 1.3 metre black stone idol of Lord Ganesh. Legend has it that one needs to first visit the Maha Ganapati temple before visiting the Mahabaleshwar temple. The Maha Ganapati temple here, has Ganesh in a standing posture.

Munthi Vinayagar Temple at Coimbatore

Munthi Vinayagar temple at Puliakulam in Coimbatore is said to be the biggest single stone granite idol in Asia weighing 14 tonnes.  Vinayaga Chathurthi is celebrated with great importance when huge gathering of devotees seek blessings of this Lord Ganesha.

Karpakar Vinayak Temple at Thiruppatthur

Pillayar Karpakar Temple is rock cut cave shrine dedicated to lord Ganesha, located at Thiruppatthur.This temple is most famous for the rock cut Vinayagar (Ganesha) sitting majestically inside a cave.

The Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayaka Chaturthi festival, is celebrated for 10 days in a grand manner every year.During that time, great numbers of pilgrims gather and participate in the Car Festival.
Rest of the time whole idol is covered with gold. It is only during the Abhishekam, or the holy bath, when one can see the full idol in its pristine glory.

Parvati Ganesha Temple at Hampi

Located in the ruins of perhaps the most powerful Hindu kingdom to ever exist, this 16 feet idol is one of the architectural splendour of the Vijayanagara period.
Out of the numerous monuments that feature in the must see list of anyone visiting Hampi, probably the most endearing is the Parvati Ganesha idol. This idol looks like any other from the front sitting in a mandapa that is typical of the Vijayanagara style of architecture. But when one goes around to the back you find that the Ganesha is actually sitting on the lap of his mother Parvati. This can only be seen when one goes to the back of the idol.

Aane Gudde Vinayaka at Aane Gudde

12 feet tall Aane Gudde Vinayaka is 'UDBHAVA MURUTHI' (Natural Stone), a single stone in the form of very elephant itself. The Tilak on the forehead is made of Sri Gandha (Sandle Paste) and the God has Swrna Mukha made of 5 Kgs of pure Gold. Rest of the Kavacha (Idol's body) is made of pure Silver. It is also believed that the statue of Lord Ganapathi is growing every year.

Ganesha's Culinary Delights

Contributed by Vidya...

Ganesha Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one festival with which many of our childhood memories are associated; and a walk down the childhood memory lane is never complete without visiting the culinary corners of the memory lane. The festive times in India always remind us about some special dishes that are especially cooked during those times of the year only; and that's so true with our favorite Ganesha's festival too.

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka,Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and many other parts of India, and the Prasad or Naivedyam recipes or foods differ slightly from region to region. Naivedhya (Sanskrit: नैवेद्य) is a Sanskrit word which means 'an offering to the God', in the stricter sense of the words. A variety of dishes, all the mouth watering ones, are cooked during this festive time. Whilst there are many that one could think about, but we would like to introduce you to the most important ones here... Starting with the land we are born & brought up in... Jai Maharashtra.

Modak

Modak is a sweet dumpling popular in western, eastern and southern regions of India. It is called Modak in Marathi (मोदक), Oriya (ମୋଦକ), Konkani, Gujarati languages; and called as Sughiyan in Malayalam (സുഖിയൻ), Modhaka or Kadubu in Kannada, Modhaka or Kozhakkattai in Tamil, and Kudumu in Telugu.

Modaks are prepared in two distinct varieties, i.e. Steamed & Deep Fried.

Patoleo

Patuli refers to a technique of cooking prevalent across the Indian sub-continent, wherein the contents to be cooked are wrapped in leaves, and then cooked over heat or steam. However the delicacy we are now discussing about is and version of Patuli mostly prepared in the western coast of India.

In this region, it's called as "Patoleo", or "Patoli", or "Turmeric Leaf Cakes". It is made of grated coconut, rice and jaggery, and cooked by wrapping and steaming in turmeric leaves. The Konkani Maratha community and Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin prepare Patoleos on the second Sunday of Shravan, Nag Panchami, and Hartalika i.e. the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi. Salt free Patoleos, are offered to Goddess Parvati, who the legends say had a strong craving for these sweets during her pregnancy.

Dahi Poha

On the last day, after an overload of festivities, we bid a adieu to our beloved Ganpati Bappa with a light meal of dahi bhaat or dahi pohe.

Adding a Dash of Modernization

Giving a modern touch in addition to the traditional Naivedya... In consideration to interest of our chocolate lovers... here comes something different and special -

The Southern Ganesha

Ganesha Chaturthi is called as Vinayaka Chaturthi  in Kannada / Vinayagar or Pillayar Chaturthi in Tamil / Vinayaka Chavithi in Telugu.

Gouri Ganesha Festival
In south this festival is celebrated as Gouri Ganesha Habba/festival. Gowri Habba or festival is celebrated a day before Ganesh Chaturthi. She is the most powerful of all the Goddess and is the very incarnation of Aadhi Shakthi Mahamaya.

Swarna Gowri Vratha
On this day, Hindu women and young girls are in new/grand traditional attire. They make arishinadagauri (a symbolic idol of Gowri made of turmeric) and bestow her for Puja. These days ready-made beautifully painted and decorated clay idols of Goddess Gowri can be bought along with Ganesha statues, at the local market.

Offering a Helping Hand

While the the concept of giving can make you feel good about yourself is true, there are several more subtle ways that can contribute towards your psychological, spiritual and emotional well-being.

As a part of our social connections initiatives, a few members of our group, namely Nandini, Bhushan, Dipti & Pramod; have contributed 1000 INR for Gurukul Ashram, which is an orphanage located at Chinchwad (Pune, India). The organisation is headed by Mr. Girish Prabhune and supports several children from all around the country.

Our group is honored to interact with Mr. Prabhune, it is indeed commendable for an individual to dedicate ones life entirely, for such a noble cause. After interacting with Mr. Prabhune, we realize how gifted we are and that we should be grateful for all that we have in our wonderful lives.

During the visit our group members noticed that Mr. Prabhune is not only running this orphanage but is also keen upon sowing seeds of high moral values his children. His mission is to generate enterprenuers from these children, such that they are self sufficient in the lives when they , but shall develop as an independent skilled enterprenuer & shall further dedicate to give the society in returns

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About a Gigantic Idol - 111 Ft. Ganesha in Gajuwaka

An 111 feet tall Ganesha idol has been erected in Gajuwaka,approximately 15 km to the south of Visakhapatnam City in the state of Andhra Pradesh (India). It scales as the tallest Ganesha Idol that has been ever built.  The 111-feet idol, on VUDA Double Road of Old Gajuwaka, shows Ganesha in the Vishnu pose carrying the Shanku, Chakra and Gadha.

As per further reports the 82 feet ganesh, with the support of NRI's, is set to receive a record busting gigantic 8,000 kg laddu. According to laddu makers this laddu cost them 16.5 lac rupees; about 2900 kg sugar, 2300kg tur dal, 1100kg ghee, 800kg dry fruits, and 40kg cardamom were used to prepare this ladoo in about 6 hours.

The Disclaimer Statement

Although the efforts and investment towards making of the idol and the gigantic ladoo are commendable, yet in our views Ganesha would had been more glad if this effort and investment would had been used for a noble cause. With 16.5 lacs one may have repaid debts of quite a many farmers who are committing suicides, or it may have been used to feed many hungry children across the year. It may as well be that - we do not fully understand the reasoning behind such splurge, but we simply believe that service to mankind is the best possible service that one can ever offer to god.