Ganesh chaturthi /Vinayaka chaturhti is the most celebrated festival throughout India. In most states it is observed for 10 days and grand Visarjan is performed on the 10th day. Especially in Maharashtra it is celebrated very elaborately. As any other hindu festival Ganesh chaturthi is celebrated with variety of nivedyams for Lord Ganesha, mainly with Modakam/Kozakattai which is made of rice flour with sweet coconut filling, which is considered Ganeha’s favorite sweet.
Traditionally in tamilnadu, before the pandigai ( festivel) Ganesh idol is made of clay ( kaliman).
The Kaliman / clay is a natural clay that is safe for the environment and dissolves in water easily. Usually the decorations are also eco-freindly, simple flower and grass ( arugam pullu) garlands. But recently the idols and decorations have become bigger and elaborate and most of the time not so environmentally conscious. This is growing concern as they affect the water bodies ( due to Visarjan, dissolving in open waters)
Back in India we used to buy the readymade kaliman pillayar for poja. After marriage it was hard to
find Ganesha idol in US so I started making it at home and now it has become a tradition to make
homemade idol with family.
This was made a couple of years with minimal paint.
On the pooja day we prepare the following items for the pooja and for Neivedyam.
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