Ganesh Chathurti Celebrated in Muscat with Enthusiasm, Splendour

Report: Koni Prakash Naik
Pics: Ramesh Babu 
 
Muscat, Sep 20: It was a grand affair as ardent devotees from various parts of Karnataka and other states in India gathered at the Shiva Temple here recently to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.

The brainchild of ex-Tulu Koota Muscat and Shree Ganesh Festival Committee, under the able guidance of the convenor Pitambar B Alke, the committee has been organizing the event for the past 26 years with great fervour and immense grandeur.

One of the special attractions of this year was the offering of a glittering golden crown (Swarna Mukuta) to lord Ganesha by a leading merchant family, namely, Ashwin Dharamsey Nensey and family.

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals and it is observed not only throughout India but also in all parts of the world by the devote Hindus. The spectacular festival honours the birth of the beloved Hindu elephant-headed god, lord Ganesha, who is popularly worshiped for his ability to remove obstacles (Vighna Vinashaka) and bring good fortunes to mankind (Siddhi Vinayaka). 

The entire Shiva Temple hall and the premise were neatly decorated in a traditional way with plantain leaf stems, sugarcane, mango leaves and fresh flowers such as marigold, rose, jasmine, and so on specially flown in from Bangalore, Kerala, Mangalore and Mumbai. It was no doubt a very rare occasion and a splendid sight for the devotees to witness the fresh flower decoration in such grandeur.

A colourful Rangoli depicting the statue of lord Ganesha with all the symbolic representations was designed by Paru Negandhi and Bijal Ved, who made the occasion even more special with their splendid masterwork.

The celebrations began with the pranapratishta pooja on Saturday September 11 morning and concluded with the immersion ceremony on Monday September 13 night, performed by the ceremonial couple, Ramesh Shettigar and Jaya Ramesh Shettigar. Throughout the three days' ceremony, various rituals and offerings like Gana Homa, Panchamrita Abhisheka, Mangalarathi, Maha Pooja, Ranga Pooja, 108 coconut offerings etc were performed by a group of local priests headed by the main priest Shri Shankaranarayana Adiga with great piety. 

Mahaprasada was served on all the three days both in the afternoon and in the night with traditional cuisine. On September 13 night sumptuous mahaprasada was served on plantain leaves to as many as 700 devotees in a very traditional style enhancing the fervour of the festival. 

During the three days festivities from early morning till late night the temple hall reverberated with Vedic Chants, Ganapathi Sahasranama Smarane, melodious devotional songs/bhajans, Veena recitals, devotional dances like Odissi, ballets, bharatanatyam etc. Devotees witnessed a feast of cultural and devotional extravaganza.

As many as 25 independent groups partook in the celebrations and presented devotional songs and dances in praise of lord Ganesha. To start with, Om Shree Ganesha Vrinda, a talented bhajan group which is an off-shoot of ex-Tulu Koota Muscat, chanted Ganesha Sahasranama and presented melodious devotional songs on the first day as well as on the last.

Thousands of devotees thronged the temple hall to offer their prayers and to seek the blessings of lord Vinayaka with great fervor. Many devotees from the neighbouring countries like Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait also were present. One European couple from the UK, who attended the festival, were overwhelmed and could not believe that an event like this in such a magnitude could take place in Muscat.

Some prominent personalities from the Indian community like Anil Wadhwa, Indian Ambassador to Sultanate of Oman, Dr Satish Nambiar, chairman, Indian Social Club Muscat, and entrepreneur Krishnakumar Taori with wife took part in the celebrations.

Due to the unstinted and selfless efforts put in by the members of Shree Ganesh Festival Committee with a feeling of oneness, Muscat devotees have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to celebrate Ganesh festivals for all these years and the efforts are going on with one voice “Ganapati Bappa Morya."

Members of Shree Ganesh Festival Committee Pithamber B Alke, Koni Prakash Naik, Ramanand Kunder, S K Poojary, Karunakar Rao, Ashok Kotian, Ramesh Shettigar, Umesh B, Shashidhar Shetty Mallar, Nagesh Shetty, Ravi Kanchan, Mangaldas Kamath, Gurudas Pejathaya, Shreenivas Shriyan, Dr Anchan C K and Kashinath N Anchan and others took active part in organising the event.