He is the ‘Dukh Harta’ and the one who removes obstacles. So be it any new project, a new house or a new car, everything starts with his blessings. The western part of the country is now gearing to welcome home the most loved Lord Ganesha.  And starting 29 August, one will see huge pandals housing Ganapati at every nook and corner of Maharashtra.  His aura is such, that devotees while immersing the Lord, ask him to come back soon, as they chant, ‘Agle Varsh Jaldi Aa’.

From Lalbaug Cha Raja, to the pandals in localities to households are all busy with the last minute preparations. Right from cleaning the house, to making modaks (his favourite sweet), to decorating the house, the stage is set to welcome him home.

While it is a 11-day festival, immersions take place after one and a half days, three days, five days, seven days, nine days and the eleventh day. Host of activities are lined up in the pandals and even at homes for the duration. The day starts with morning aarti, it progresses with hawan, bhajans and then concludes with evening aarti. People, who bring him home, invite family and friends for darshan and treat the Lord like a guest, with morning and evening aarti.   

On the occasion, we at indiantelevision.com ask the industry about their preparations for the 11 day festival and how they celebrate it.

MCOF president, Arvind Prabhoo

We have been bringing home Lord Ganesha for the last 45 years. While the celebrations were restricted only to my mother’s house, it was some 45 years ago, when my brother was some two to three years old, when he got fascinated towards the whole festival and we decided to also bring home the Lord. We bring the Lord home for five days.

The preparations start almost one year in advance, as the order for the idol has to be made. We get an eco-friendly Ganapati. For the past 15 days, the entire family has been busy with cleaning the house, getting ingredients for the Prasad etc.

On day one we have modaks for the Lord and also lunch arranged, on the third day we arrange for bhajan in Gujarati and Marathi, while on the fifth day, my mother makes close to 200 puran poli’s.

We immerse the Lord in the municipal ground next to our house in Villeparle, where the municipality creates an artificial pond. 

Star India SVP programming Ashish Golwalkar

We have been getting Lord Ganesha for more than 20 years. Celebrations and preparations start in full swing almost a week or 10 days in advance. We get Ganapati for seven days. This year, the celebration is going to be on a larger scale as all the families will come under one roof and are celebrating this occasion. We get clay Ganapati and immerse the Lord in the nearby pond.

Zee 24 Taas business head Bhushan Khot

We have been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi since the past 12 years at our home. We keep for one and a half days and the immersion takes place at an artificially created pond near our home so as to not pollute the water. We have been doing this from my childhood as a joint family and when we moved out to our own place, we continued the tradition.

Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha

The occasion is very important because it is being celebrated at our home since the last 60 years. My father had started the tradition and we followed suit of bringing home Ganesha for one and a half days and immersion is done at the nearby pond. Along with it, we also prepare Lord Ganesha’s favourite modak and shrikhand and other such sweets.