Ganpati Bappa Morya in California

Ganpati bappa morya!!!

A very happy celebration having Ganpati Bappa at our abode in California this year.

Though it has been only few weeks of me being here, the warm welcome that the state has extended has been overwhelming.

The ease at which welcoming bappa at our place was unimaginable.

You will find Ganapati Bappa idols ready for sale around 10-12 days before Ganesh Chaturthi at any of the places mentioned below:-
1)India Cash n Carry
2)Namaste Plaza
3)Namaste India amd many other India  Stores.

There are also specific shops like the "Pooja Store" in Fremont which offer Ganapati idols on sale as well as all the other things required to fulfill the Ganesh pooja at home. Banana leaves, mango leaves, beetle leaves, Suparis, diya, as well as all of the other puja material is available.

As the time approaches to bid Ganpati bappa adieu, one would wonder how to do the Ganesh visarjan.

While I have met and interacted with many families in California who have had Ganpati bappa at their homes for years, I have learnt:-
1) some worship the Ganesh idol at home year after year but dont do visrajan but welcome bappa home and chant "ganpati bappa morya pudhchya warshi kavkar ya" at the end of 1 and a half or 5 or 10 days as per their family tradition with same enthusiasm and excitement
2) some bring new Ganesh idols every year but dont do visarjan/immersion in water
3) Some do the visarjan in small water pool in their own backyards or some like I did
4) leave their dear Ganesh idols in safe custodies of the various Hindu temples in the area who then on the end of 10th day I.e. on Anant Chaturdashi, do the visarjan of all Ganesh idols in San Francisco bay.

Some temples like the Vedic Hindu Temple, Fremont or the Sankat mochan Hanuman temple in Fremont, also allow you to join the cruise into the Pacific Ocean and do the visarjan in person.

Charges for safe custody and in person visarjan are USD 51/-

The Indian communities also arrange for a variety of cultural activities ad competitions for children amd adults. Some of the interesting ones are those arranged by the Marathi Mitra Mandal of Bay Area. Do visit their websites to gather more information.

Hope this blog provides you with some information on how the Indian community celebrates the Ganesh festival in California.

Also sharing some photos from my celebration!