COME AGAIN GANAPATI

Swati

Ganesh Chaturthi, the fourth day of the Hindu month Bhadrapada is celebrated as the auspicious day when Ganesh was born. The festival is celebrated with great fervour and enthusiasm by Maharashtrians. In cosmopolitan Dwarka, the festival has become an annual event in the calender of religious activities of Maharashrtian community. Maharashtrians residing in all sectors as well as from neighbouring areas of Palam, Uttam Nagar and Mahavir Enclave participate in this joyful event. This year Ganeshotsav was celebrated from 23 -30th August. The visarjan of Ganapati idol marked the conclusion of the seven day long Ganeshutsav in Dwarka on 30th August. The action-packed seven days were full of cultural shows, creative activities and social programmes. The Maharashtra Mitra Mandal, Dwarka, has been coordinating and organising the festival in the sub city since last four years and this year the celeberations were held at Anant CGHS, Sector-4. The main highlights of the programmes held includes a hasya kavi sammelan in which popular poet Kirti Kale and other poets regaled the audience. While various poets and poetess like Sarojini Pritam, Ramesh Gangele, Arvind Chaturvedi, Mahendra Sharma and Akelaji brought in downpour of laughter with their bagful of light poetry, there were serious poets like Rajgopalji and Surendra Dubey who gave a message to the society. Suchitra Sumbh presented a light music programme and the crowd was captivated by her melodious songs. A colourful cultural programme was presented by the children of Maharashtra Mitra Mandal which was a golden opportunity to showcase their talents. In fact, the Ganesh festival gives Maharashtrians an opportunity to exhibit their rich culture. Apart from creating bonding between fellow community members, it also helps in preserving our culture. According to Prakash Chitnis, President, “Our rich cultural heritage developed through various religious and social festivals and fiestas hold us by common thread of love and bondage. The religious sentiments continue to meet most of the social needs of bringing people together sharing each others views and sentiments.” The concluding day had a Satyanarayan puja and a ‘mahaprasad’ or bhandara where a large number of residents of the subcity attended. As in the past, the celebrations this year too were enjoyed by one and all and each looked forward to the festival next year.