Ganesha festival brings Hindus and Muslims together

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Ganesha festival brings Hindus and Muslims together

DailyIndia.com

By Sushil Pareek

 

Mumbai, Sep 20, 2007

In many areas of Mumbai, Muslims joined Hindus in

celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi, the festival that marks the

birthday of Lord Ganesha.

 

Dozens of Muslims prayed together with Hindus at many

temples in the city, offering flowers and performing

religious rituals.

 

The men belonging to the two communities have been

visiting mosques and the temples to pray.

 

Salim Khan, a Muslim devotee said they are all one

regardless of religion or caste.

 

" We celebrate it by taking out a grand procession. There is

no such feeling of differences in their (Hindus) hearts. We,

Hindus and Muslims together, celebrate this festival, " added

Salim.

 

On the culmination of the ten-day-long festival, the Ganesha

idols would be taken in grand procession immersing then in

water bodies.

 

This practice of communal harmony has been followed for

years, say the locals.

 

Dilip Mahadev Sawant, a Hindu devotee said despite it

being the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, this has not

stopped the tradition from being carried on.

 

" Everybody is observing fast but they all still come here for

aarti (a religious ritual). This has been a tradition with us for

20 years now, " Sawant said.

 

Ganesh Chaturthi used to be a personal or private affair,

celebrated at homes. But at the turn of the century,

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from

British rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a

platform for political propaganda.

 

The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

 

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created

Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to

remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing

ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath.

 

Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most

powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and

beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash,

Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode.

 

When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife

Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life

by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head.

 

Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best loved of Indian

gods.

 

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