Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: COVID-19 Dampens Festive Spirit, Leaders Offer Prayers At Home

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi: The festival is dedicated to the Lord of new beginnings, Ganesha.

The country is celebrating the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi, the Hindu festival which is dedicated to the Lord of new beginnings, Ganesha. Devotees across the country began the day offering aarti (the lighting of traditional lamp and camphor) in temples across the country. 

On this day, devotees across the country bring idols of Lord Ganesh to their homes and decorate the idols with flowers and garlands. Modaks (dumplings made of rice flour and jaggery) and laddoos, considered as Lord Ganesh's favourite sweets, are offered to please the Hindu God.

This year, the preparations around the country have been downsized due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has affected nearly 30 lakh people and killed 56,000 in the country so far.

Most major cities have ordered that effigies of the Lord Ganesha, which can draw thousands of Hindu devotees onto the streets, be shrunk back.

Traditionally, the idols can tower 10 metres (30 feet) high or more and need dozens of people to carry them but this year authorities said they can be no more than 1.1 metres tall in a bid to cut crowds.

The festivities end with the final immersion of an idol of Lord Ganesha, called the Visarjan.

Here are the LIVE updates on Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations across India:

Aug 22, 2020 17:06 (IST)

Watch: Uddhav Thackeray Offers Ganesh Chaturthi Prayers With Family
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was seen offering Ganesh Chaturthi prayers with his family in a video shared by his office. The 10-day celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi began today across the country. Read more

Aug 22, 2020 16:45 (IST)

Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu performed Ganesh Puja with his wife Usha Naidu on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Aug 22, 2020 16:24 (IST)

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari offers prayers to Lord Ganesha at his residence in Nagpur, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Aug 22, 2020 15:59 (IST)

Chennai Woman Decks Up Home With Lord Ganesha, COVID-19 Decorations

As devotees across the country celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a woman decked up her home decorations with Lord Ganesha and coronavirus theme.

Nandini Venkatesh, a former resident of Singapore told ANI that she had come to India to raise her children and started her collection of memorabilia based on the elephant god.

"My children and I started a collection of lots of Ganesh-Ji themed objects. Every year, we host a three-year exhibition to showcase the memorabilia to the people. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to do so. Instead, we have decorated our house with the theme of both coronavirus and Ganesh Chaturthi," Ms Venkatesh said.

Aug 22, 2020 14:13 (IST)

Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: Taimur Made Lego Ganpati For Kareena Kapoor And Saif Ali Khan. See Pics
"Tim made sure the festival was on point by making a beautiful Lego Ganeshji for us," Kareena captioned her post."

Aug 22, 2020 14:10 (IST)

Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: Chennai-based woman decorates house with Corona-themed Ganesha

Nandini Vignesh, a Chennai-based woman, decorated her house with Corona-themed Ganesha and thousands of Ganesha idols to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, news agency ANI reported.

"We started collecting Ganesha idols and now we have 3,500 idols at home. We travelled to many places to collect idols," Nandini Vignesh told ANI.

Tamil Nadu: A Chennai housewife decorates her house with Corona-themed Ganesha & thousands of Ganesha idols to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.

Nandini Vignesh says, "We started collecting Ganesha idols & now we have 3500 idols at home. We travelled to many places to collect idols." pic.twitter.com/q4Ynmlw73I

- ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2020

Aug 22, 2020 14:06 (IST)

Devotees offer prayers outside a Lord Ganesh temple in Guwahati on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. A weekend lockdown has been imposed in the state to contain the spread of COVID-19 till August 31.