Ganeshotsav Off to Good Start

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi got off to a well start today. The swine flu seemed to have little impact on the morale of the people in Pune. People were seen thronging temples and Modak, the special type of sweet which is said to be favourite of Lord Ganesh, was in full demand. Even rain graced the city on the occasion.

Roadside vendors made most of the business as the sale of big idols were hit this time around. Ganesh idols in Pune come mainly from Pen in Raigad district. But because of scarcity of water and then H1N1 scare, the number of idols coming to Pune were much lesser. Last fortnight, major Ganesh mandals decided to keep the festivities subdued because of H1N1 Flu scare.

Five main Ganpati mandals (Ganesh Mandals) have special place in the city. First of them all is Kasba Ganpati in Kasba Peth which is city deity. The festival of Kasba Ganpati started with pranpratishtha of Ganesh idol at 11 AM. A procession of the idol was brought out before the main ceremony. The procession was bereft of any kind of musical troupes because all prestigious mandals decided to refrain from musical troupes on account of H1N1 Flu.

In Mumbai also, chief minister Ashok Chavan installed a Ganesh idol at his official residence 'Varsha'. Speaking to mediapersons, he said he prayed to lord for good rains in the state. “I also prayed to god for controlling the inflation, to solve drinking water problem and to make the state wealthier,” he said.