Different traditions, one Ganesha

CHENNAI: For these Chennai families, Ganesh Chaturthi is rooted in traditions passed down through generations, with each community bringing its own rituals, food and ways of worshipping Ganesha

'Undrallu is special prasadam we offer'

We buy a Ganesha idol and offer the sacred thread on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Apart from kozhukattais, we make undrallu, a special prasadam that is common in Telugu households. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival we celebrate very religiously and we don’t eat until we finish the elaborate pooja.

We make two kinds of undrallu, one sweet and one savoury. We keep Ganesha at home for three days and immerse the idol on the third day.

We see it as sending him back to his mother, thanking him for visiting us and asking him to come back next year and continue to bless us.

- Aarthi Varanasi, dubbing artiste and actorRadhika Ramakrishnan, music teacher

'We make Ganesha idol using turmeric'

Instead of buying a clay idol, my father makes the Ganesha idol using turmeric. We begin with prathishta, followed by sankalpam and avahanam, inviting Lord Ganesha into our home.

This is followed by chanting the Ganesha Atharvashirsha, archanai with flowers and arugampul, neivedyam and karpoora aarti. The entrance to the house is decorated with a mango-leaf toranam, while a maavu kolam is drawn for the occasion.

The traditional spread includes poorna kozhukattai (modakam), payasam, appam, kadalai sundal, vadai and ulundu kozhukattai, along with fruits, coconut and betel leaves.

Poorna kozhukattai is special in our family and something we look forward to every year.

The turmeric from the idol is later used by the women for their manjal charadu or applied as turmeric. The way we celebrate may have changed, but the devotion and tradition remain the same.

- Radhika Ramakrishnan, music teacher

'In Bengali culture, we worship Ganesha alongside Goddess Lakshmi'

Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in Bengali culture too, but traditionally it has much less prominence than Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja or Lakshmi Puja.

In Bengali households, Lord Ganesha (Gonesh) is worshipped as the deity of wisdom, prosperity, auspicious beginnings and the removal of obstacles. A particularly Bengali feature is Ganesha’s close association with Lakshmi.

During Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, especially in traditional Bengali households, Ganesha is often worshipped alongside Goddess Lakshmi.

Our Ganesh puja is usually smaller and with just close family, often performed at home or in a local temple. The puja is accompanied by alpana and traditional Bengali arrangements.

We offer durba grass, bananas and other fruits, coconut, atap rice, sandesh and other Bengali sweets, modak and flowers, particularly red flowers, to Ganesha.

The pairing is also reflected in Bengali households during Lakshmi Puja, where Ganesha is placed beside Goddess Lakshmi. This is different from the common North Indian tradition of associating Lakshmi with Vishnu.

- Ravi Shankar Roy, Head of Global Business

'Ganesha stays with us for 10 days'

We buy a Ganesha idol and decorate it at home. Coming from a Sindhi community, we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with a lot of devotion.

We prepare traditional sweets like Sindhi churi and modak as offerings. We offer prayers every day for 10 days and immerse the idol on the tenth day.

There is a temple near our place, so we also visit it for special prayers during the festival.”

- Ekta Sachdev, entrepreneur

- Inputs from Dharshini