Hundreds have been flocking nightly since September 14 under the make shift tent mandir in observance of Ganesh Chaturthi at the Pt. Ramlall Arya Samaj ground on 133rd Street, off Liberty Ave in Little Guyana, Queens, New York, USA. The Ganesh utsav or festival began on September 14 and will conclude on September 24 with a procession on Liberty Avenue, thence to the Rockaway beach for immersion of clay murthis. Other mandirs will conclude their observance on September 25 after which will commence the observance of Pitri Paksha or prayers on behalf of departed souls. Ganesha Chaturthi celebrates the appearance of Lord Ganesh and is one of the most colorful festivals of Hindus. Not very popular in Guyana or the Caribbean, it has become very popular in New York, Toronto, and Florida among Indo-Caribbean and other Hindus. Almost every mandir in America observed the first day of the festival. It is celebrated all over India and held daily.
The festival known as Ganesh Mahotsav or Utsav or Ganesh Chaturthi began with a procession to the mandir of Ganesh murthis made from clay and decorated with a variety of paintings, ornaments, flowers, and fruits. Some mandirs have held nightly service while Divine of Grace and Shri Tulsi Mandir (111th Street) have been holding nightly service; Divine Grace has been holding three daily puja and discourse sessions (morning, noon, evening). There was much jubilation in the evening with worshippers dancing under the tent.
The first night marks the appearance of the deity and the final session in the day will conclude the festival with the immersion of the murthi in the ocean. The observance of the festival was introduced in the greater Richmond Hill area by Hindus from Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, and India. Divine Grace has been observing the festival annually around this time of the year for several years. Food has been served daily after each session. Several tents have been put up in the Arya Samaj compound – a large one for worshipping, another for havan, a third for eating, and a fourth for cooking. There is also a storage facility for food items as well as a refrigerator. The public has been generously donating food items and cash to cover the costs of the ten days of festivities. The compound has a modern outdoor movable toilet.
Ganesha is a God worshipped by Hindus at every prayer (Jhandi) and the first to be invoked; in Hinduism, there is only one God or Goddess and is worshipped under different names. Ganesha is first to be mentioned in a puja because he has the power to clear obstacles and bring fortune and peace. The Ganesh festival and events held under its auspices brought people together from all walks of life in a fervent display of joy during the first day procession and praying daily at the temples.
Hindu pilgrims came from various parts of the city to join one of two processions on Sunday September 13 of Monday September 14 late afternoon – one organized by Tulsi Mandir of 111 Street and the other by Grace of Divine. Tulsi began its observance on September 13, its 14th annual observance. Grace of Divine held its procession with a murthi of the deity on the first night of the festival, its sixth annual observance. Grace of Divine also held a nightly discourse on Ganesha reading from the Hindu scriptures from Monday Thursday 14.
The processions included bhajans or religious songs with a Ganesh murthi atop an open trailer and a van called a yatra (people following the moving Ganesh murthi). Songs dedicated to Ganesha accompanied by music blared out and followers also sang along in a chorus or kirtan. Celebrants clapped, danced, and chanted mantras. Every discourse also had traditional rituals, chanting of mantras from the holy books, a discourse or pravachan, bhajans, and music. The festival will conclude with same and tassa music.
The festival coincides with the end of summer and start of Potri puja. After Pitri Paksh, two weeks of remembrance of the departed, comes Navratri followed by Ram Leela and Dussehra and Diwali on November 7.
