Two-three months before the festival, beautiful clay models of Lord Ganesha are made by skilled artisans and sold in the markets. These beautiful statues depict Lord Ganesha in various poses.
On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi that is 25th the lords idols are brought hime with lot bhakhti and fun.The next 3,5 or 10 days, localities witness beautiful pandals with huge statues of Ganesha.
The priests in every pandal perform four main holy rituals- first being Pranapratishhtha to invoke life into the statues amidst the chanting of sacred verses. The ritual is then followed by Shhodashopachara- 16 forms of paying tribute to the Lord.
Next one is Uttarpuja, which is a pooja in which the idol could be shifted from one place to another and the last ritual is Ganpati Visarjan, which is the immersion of the idol in water. The visarjan is followed by loud chanting of “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudcha Varshi Lokar Ya”, which means ‘Lord Ganesha, come back soon next year.’
