Devotees across the country participated in Ganesh Chaturthi festivities that ended on Sunday. Thousands of idols were immersed in water bodies during the annual celebration.
Ganesh Chaturthi is the birthday of elephant god Ganesh or Ganpati, who is worshipped for his wisdom and ability to remove hurdles. Devotees install, worship, and immerse the idol after celebrating the festival for 14 days.
The 14-day festival concluded on Sunday with the celebration of Anant Chaturdashi.
While public Ganesh mandals opted to immerse idols in the sea or river, many families with smaller idols did so in buckets of water. Many devotees opted for eco-friendly clay idols instead of the plaster of Paris-made statues to reduce the impact on the ecology.
In Mumbai, the famous Lalbaugcha Raja will be immersed in the Arabian Sea at Girgaum Chowpatty. Here are a few images of the festivities from across the country:
The festival was promoted by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak who popularised it as a way to protest against the British rule in India by bringing people together.
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