Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
The Hindu Calender sees an onslaught of festivities this season, that gets triggered off with the very auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayak Chaturthi celebrations, which falls this year on August 23. This day celebrate the birth of Lord Ganesh, also known as the Hindu deity for prosperity.

The welcoming of the “Ganapati Bappa” is celebrated with aplomb in the western and parts of southern India. Mumbai, the commercial capital of the nation, gears up heavily each year for the festival which is celebrated over a 10 day period. Big idols of Lord Ganesha, reaching a towering height of almost up to 22 ft at places, are seen at celebratory gatherings all over the city. People even perform the “pooja” ceremonies at their home exclusively. Temples all across the city see devotees almost up to 10 lakhs, flocking to their premises.

This year though, a shadow of the Swine Flu scare will be clamping down on the celebratory mood of the festival somewhat. During a time when the H1N1 scare has almost paralyzed the nation, with the state of Maharashtra having taken the worst beating, it is no consequence that the 116 year old festival will be a little lackluster this time.

Many of the places where a “sarvajanik” (open for all) pooja was held previously, have toned down on the celebrations, in order to cut down on the crowd in an attempt to lower the chances of an outbreak of the deadly flu. This in turn has somewhat dipped the profit of business for people who involved in decorating and lighting of the “pandals.”