Celebrations

Nowhere is the fervor more evident for this festival than in Maharashtra. It is a community festival there. Crowds throng in thousands at various places during this festival. Cries of 'Ganpathi Bapa Moraiya' rent the air wherever his devotees congregate. But all over India too celebrations take place on a major scale. On the eleventh day, in Mumbai, millions of people participate to have a look at thousands of idols which are immersed in the waters of the Arabian Sea. The immersion ceremony is known as Visarjan or Nimajan. The festivity is marked by loud chants to the accompaniment of music which includes blowing of bugles, beating of drums, etc. But 'Lokmanya' Bal Gangadhar Tilak was instrumental in making this a mass festival in Maharashtra. He encouraged people to participate in large-scale. This was done with an intent to unite Marathas. Now these celebrations have spread their tentacles to states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where they are growing in popularity.