Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu Festival which is also known by the name of Vinayaka Chaturthi as Lord Ganesha has many names by which he is called. It is a ten day festival but this year this will be observed for eleven days. The festival starts on the forth day as per the Hindu luni solar calender month Bhadrapada in the months of August or September. The festival marks the birthday of Lord Ganesha and is celebrated with the installation of Ganesha idols either privately or in elaborated pandals where thousands of people gather and celebrate the festival together.
The festival is observed with chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts of Ganapati Upanishads, prayers and fasts. The prasad is also distributed in the pandals to the devotees which include sweets like modaka which is believed to be a favorite of the elephant-headed deity. The festival ends on the tenth day of its start but this year it will end on its eleventh day then the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting and then it is immersed in nearby water body such as river or ocean and therefore it is made up of clay so that it dissolves in the water.
This festival is celebrated in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and many more places. The public preparation for the festival is begins months ahead of the festival. This festival in Maharashtra starts with the Padya Pooja of Lord Ganesha. In preparation for the festival, artisans create clay models of Ganesha for sale.