Ganesh Chaturthi

• History
• Places to visit
• How to reach

Lord Ganesha is considered as one of the major deities in our culture. He is referred to as Vighnaharta or the remover of obstacles. His enormous Maya is such that generally before indulging in any positive activity, a Ganesha Puja is conducted in our culture. He is one of those Gods who is also considered as a harbinger of good luck, joy and happiness. 

Ganesha Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, is a festival which has gained an immense significance in Indian culture over time and the reasons for this lies in both our history and legends. Celebrated with an amazing sense of grandeur, on Ganesh Chaturthi Pooja people can be seen bursting with ecstasy and joy from within. 

This Indian festival is more like a grand fiesta of Indian cultural ethos as it involves a lot of rituals and customs to please the Lord. Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 will be held from September 10, though it won't be as grand as it always is courtesy the COVID-19 pandemic. 

History of Ganesh Chaturthi 

If we see this historically, then Ganesha Chaturthi can be traced back to the Mughal-Maratha wars as well as during the time of Indian freedom struggle - the time of Lokmanya Tilak. 

He stood with the decision of Sarvajanik Ganesha Utsav in his own newspaper Kesari. During both these times, the idols of Lord Ganesha were used as a motivational factor to boost the confidence of Indians to fight against the Britishers and Mughals.

Furthermore, he is also considered to be the God who successfully bridged the gap between Brahmins and Non-Brahmins as he is worshipped in both the communities with an equal amount of divine reverence.

The Relevance as Per Rigveda

The earliest records of Lord Ganesha can be traced back to the Rigveda, which fundamentally implies him to be seer among the seers. This is no hidden fact that the Lord is known for his knowledge and wisdom. Lord Ganesha is also referred to as Gam Ganapataye which means he is the supreme lord who presides over all the forms of creations.

Major Attractions Of Ganesha Chaturthi

On the auspicious occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi, the idols of the Lord are installed in the houses of people. During this period which stretches to around 10 days, he is offered with a lot of delicacies, flowers and also his favourite modaks.

The whole country celebrates this festival with great zeal owing to which grand processions are carried locally on the streets. People go crazy in their devotion by singing, dancing and welcoming the Lord. And it is on the 11th day that the idols are immersed in the nearby water bodies bidding the Lord goodbye and asking him to come again the next year.

How to Reach

Mumbai is an interesting urban travel getaway where one can hope to witness a wide variety of festivals, events along with travel getaways, Ganesh Chaturthi being one of them. From Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru you will need to travel 1,416 km, 710 km, 2,219 km, and 984 km respectively. Let’s see how you can reach Mumbai by the following routes mentioned below. 

By Air. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) formerly known as the Sahara International Airport is the major airport serving Mumbai and its nearby areas. After Delhi, this airport is known to be the 2nd busiest airport in all of India as it handles copious amounts of domestic as well as international traffic. Many airlines like Spicejet, Air Asia, IndiGo and Go Air operate to and fro Mumbai with good connectivity. While deboarding at the airport, it is important for you to know that it has two terminals. 

Terminal 1 is the domestic terminal which is alternatively known as Santa Cruz Airport. The second terminal is called Terminal 2 and handles the international flights to and fro Mumbai Airport. On a yearly basis, this terminal is known for handling 40 million passengers (this is an approx figure). 

Here is how you can reach Mumbai by air.

• Indore - Board Air India, IndiGo, Air Asia, Go Air, Vistara from Indore Airport. The airfares are starting from Rs.3,000.
• Delhi - Board AirAsia, IndiGo, Spicejet, Go Air from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airfares are starting from Rs.3,000
• Surat - Board Spicejet, IndiGo, Air India from Surat Airport. The airfares are starting from Rs.3,000
• Lucknow - Board Go Air, Air India, IndiGo from Lucknow Airport. The airfares are starting from Rs.4,000

After deboarding at the airport, you will need to cover the remaining distance by some means of public transportation like a cab or a bus to reach your respective destination.

By Road. Depending upon your location, you can also travel to Mumbai via roadways. Mumbai city is well connected with fairly well-maintained road networks. Here is how you can reach here by the following routes.

• Pune - 150 km via Mumbai-Pune Highway
• Nashik - 165 km via NH160 
• Jodhpur - 966 km via NH48
• Aurangabad - 368 km via NH160 or Nasik Highway
• Panaji - 571 km via NH48 or NH66
• Mangalore - 893 km via NH48 or NH52
• Ratnagiri - 454 km via NH66 or Nh48
• Goa - 582 km via NH48 

You can also consider travelling via interstate buses to reach Mumbai. Mumbai Central Bus Station is the primary bus terminus situated in the centre of the city. From this terminus, buses (luxury, semi-luxury, passenger or express) of MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) operate to and fro on a fairly regular basis connecting nearby cities.

By Train. The city of Mumbai is well-linked by a fairly prominent network of railway lines. If you are coming from Central, Western or Eastern parts of Mumbai, then you should deboard at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. However, if you are coming from the northern side of Mumbai, then you must consider deboarding at the Mumbai Central Station first. After deboarding, you will need to cover the remaining distance via some means of public transportation like a cab, bus, auto.

Here is how you can reach here by the following train routes.

• Delhi -  Take Mumbai Rajdhani and deboard at the Mumbai Central 
• Hyderabad - Board Rajkot Express or Konark Express via Secunderabad Junction 
• Jodhpur - Board Ranakpur Express from Jodhpur Junction and deboard at Bandra Terminus
• Aurangabad - Board Jan Shatabdi Express from Aurangabad station and deboard at the Dadar station
• Visakhapatnam - Board Konark Express via Visakhapatnam railway station 

You can plan your trip and create your own route to the city with Adotrip’s technically driven circuit planner. Click here