Guest guest Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Festival of Ganesh - Ganesh Chaturthi (Part II) Since the days of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the founder of the Maratha empire this Ganesh Festival was celebrated on a grand scale in Pune and later on the Peshwas themselves participated in this festival as Ganesh was their family deity. Today this festival is the most colourful and happy event in the religious, social and cultural life of India specially that of Pune. With the end of the Peshwa regime this festival lost its glamour and came to be observed privately in households only. Thus many years passed. At the crucial juncture of India's history when the nation indeed under the yoke of slavery of the British, Lokmanya Tilak, who proclaimed "Swarajya is my birth-right and I'll have it" realising the importance of the massive popularity of this festival initiated its nationwide celebrations in 1893. Then it became a platform for political awakening and uprising among people to gain freedom from British imperialism. Ganesh Festival thus played a very important role in our Freedom Struggle. During the last 5000 years of history in the post-Vedic era, the concept of Ganesh had reached all over the world and idols of Ganesh in various forms have been found in Java, Indo-China, Nepal, Combodia, Tibet, Thailand, Vietnam and Srilanka where He is regarded as the protector and saviour of mankind from the menace of ghosts and demons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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