Capital bolo moriya

If you think it’s only Maharashtra that celebrates the fervor of Ganesh Chaturthi, you might be mistaken. The capital city of Delhi is also all set for the grand festival as Delhiites prepare to welcome their very own Ganpati in style. Compared to the last decade, Delhi is now celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi on a much larger scale.

Like Durga pooja, there are many Pandals, which are set in the capital for Ganesh Chaturthi. “Dilli Ka Maharaja”, one of the biggest pandals to be organized by Sri Ganesh Sewa Mandal, is a prime example of this. This pandal, which will come up in Laxminagar of East Delhi, will be based on the theme of Tirupati Balaji Temple of South India.

Karan Bhardwaj, an ardent believer of Lord Ganesha says, “I do morning and evening pooja daily when Ganpati Bappa is at home. These ten days give me peace and satisfaction and I like to follow the religious customs.” Speaking of what inspired him to make the celebrations grand, Karan adds, “I started doing this when I saw one of my friend celebrating when he invited me to his home. While I was there, the rituals made me feel energetic and happy that’s why I started doing this and now if I look back it has been almost eight years since I am celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.”

Mahendra Ladda, who is a resident of Delhi but is originally from Maharashtra says, “Me and my wife came to Delhi back in 2002 and at that time no one here actually knew what Ganesh Chaturthi was. It was celebrated in very few places in the capital and compared to that time, people here now are way more aware of the festival. Even Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had put up many hoardings calling for celebrations and congratulated people for the festival. At that time I could not have imagined that this would happen someday. At least people know about the festival properly and that makes me feel like I am close to home.”

While the celebration preparations are in full swing, a lot of organisers are trying to utilise the occasion to spread some message. Sachin Gupta, the president of one of the organizing committees in Delhi says, “This year Lord Ganesha Idol will be eco-friendly and we won’t be using any chemicals. Keeping in mind the goal to save Yamuna River and to Promote “Green Delhi Clean Delhi”, we will not immerse the idol of Lord Ganesha in the Yamuna.”

Rahul Kumar, another Delhiite says, “I wait for these 10 days to come every year so that I, along with my family, can celebrate and worship Lord Ganesha in my home. These 10 days are the most special to me. Every evening I invite my neighbours and family members for the pooja, as most of the people living in my residents don’t celebrate it, so it also becomes an opportunity for them to get the blessing. From the past few years, people in Delhi have started celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi more and it is becoming more and more popular now here.” Many city residents are now seeing this occasion as another day to go out and celebrate all that is good and prosperous with their near and dear ones.