Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: Gaṇeśa Caturthī), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi (Vināyaka Caturthī) or Vinayaka Chavithi (Vināyaka Cavithī) or Vinayagar Chaturthi (Vināyagar Caturthī), is a Hindu festival birthday of Hindu deity Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha’s clay murtis (devotional representations of a deity) privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 Murtis are immersed annually. Thereafter the clay Murti dissolves and Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.
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