The Ganesh Utsav is one of the most celebrated festivals in India. Ganesh Chaturthi, a holy Hindu festival, is celebrated by the devotees of Lord Ganesha. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Ganesha was born on Chaturthi (the fourth day of the bright fortnight) in the month of Magha. Nowadays, this festival is celebrated by the people of Hindu and many Muslim communities all over the world.
Historical traces
The exact origin of the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is not known, although some historians, traces its origin in 1630–1680. The Ganesh Chaturthi festival was celebrated publically during the time of Shivaji Maharaj. During the time of Shivaji, this Ganeshotsav began to be celebrated regularly as the good luck charm for his empire. However, after the fall of Peshwas, it remained a family festival.
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Role of Tilak
The form in which we know this 10-day long festival today was revived in 1893 by Lokmanya Tilak. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the most important Indian freedom fighters and social reformers. Generally, it was started celebrating as a national festival to remove the bitterness between Brahmins and non-Brahmins as well as to bring unity among the people. Tilak started this festival to foster unity among Hindus, which was very essential to create resistance against colonial rule. The large and sumptuous processions that we see today trace back their origin to Tilak’s period. People in Maharashtra started celebrating it annually. The ritual of Ganesh Visarjan was also established by Lokmanya Tilak.
Later developments
Gradually people started celebrating this festival through community participation rather than family celebrations. Society and community people celebrate this festival together as a community festival and perform activities like intellectual speech, poetry, dance, devotional songs, drama, music festivals, folk dance, etc. People get together before the date and celebrate as well as decide how to control such a huge crowd.