Qrius Quotient: Ganesh Chaturthi 101 for the new joiners

Ganeshotsav is celebrated for 10 days, with the 1st day being Ganesh Chaturthi, marking Lord Ganesha’s birth and the 10th day being ‘Anant Chaturdashi’

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the 4th day (‘Chaturthi’ refers to the 4th day of the waxing and waning phase of the lunar month)

Lord Ganesha is known by 108 different names, the popular ones being Vinayaka, Vighnaharta and Gajanana among others.

Pranapratishhtha, Shhodashopachara, Uttarpuja, and Ganpati Visarjan are the 4 main rituals performed during the 10-day festival

In the Shhodashopachara, prayers are offered to the Ganesha idol in 16 different ways

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is widely believed to have first observed and celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with great fervor in Pune in the 1600s, according to historical records

The origins of the modern-day Ganesh festival dates back to 1893, when freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak transformed the festival from a private celebration to a grand public event to unite India against the British

Lord Ganesha makes an appearance on Indonesia’s 20,000 rupiah currency note, as an inscription 

Visarjan takes place on the 10th day of the festival, when the idols of Lord Ganesha are immersed in the water. The longest immersion process is of Mumbai’s iconic ‘Lalbaugcha Raja,’ established in 1934

The 14-foot-tall Lord Ganesha idol’s visarjan takes about 24 hours to be completed, as devotees bid adieu