AMDAVAD: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ganesh Chaturthi, the widely celebrated festival by Indians is being mutely celebrated this time all over the country.
The festival that marks the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha, the younger son of Lord Shiva, is usually celebrated with huge pomp and show.
During British rule in India, Tilak noticed that Lord Ganesh was considered as “the God for everyman”, that Ganesh was worshipped by the members belonging to the upper castes and lower castes alike, leaders and followers.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak popularised Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival to reduce differences between different societies. Notably, during the celebration of this festival Brahmins and non-Brahmins came together hence, eradicating the caste difference.
In 1893, he set up the first and the oldest mandal— Keshavi Naik Chawl Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal at Girgaum.
Lokmanya Tilak was the first person to install a large clay idol of Lord Ganesh in public places and started the 10-day long affair.
This festival also served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities. It slowly became a religious and social function. The function was embedded with cultural programmes and nationalistic speeches. Even Muslim leaders participated in these annual celebrations and delivered speeches, exhorting the countrymen to fight for freedom.
Meanwhile, some historians believe that Shivaji Maharaj was the first King in Maharashtra, who started the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in great fervor since Lord Ganesh was the Kuldevata (family God) of the Peshwas. The practise continued till the fall of the Peshwas.
In due course of time, people began celebrating it individually and privately. Centuries later, the festival was reinvented as a symbol of the nationalistic movement by Lokamnya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, famously known as ‘Father of Indian Unrest’.
_Vinayak