Divine Power, Lord Ganesh - Portrait 2

Divine Power of Lord Ganesh - Portrait 2

Participating for: Texture Tuesday         

Divine Power, Lord Ganesh - Portrait 4

Divine Power of Lord Ganesh - Portrait 4

Participating for: Our World Tuesday SOOC Monday, The Creative Exchange and Texture Tuesday        

The Divine Power of Lord Ganesh

The Divine Power of Lord Ganesh

Batu Caves - Lord Murugan, Malaysia

Batu Caves - Lord Murugan, Malaysia

The steep flight of the 272 steps to get to the Batu Caves

The magnificent statue of Lord Murugan, tallest in the world, and the steep flight of the 272 steps to get to the Batu Caves

Visarjan During Ganesh Chaturthi - 2

Visarjan During Ganesh Chaturthi - 2

Volunteers take the Ganesh idol deeper in water for immersion on a plank

Before the immersion as part of the ritual, volunteers chant prayers while they rotate the Ganesh idol

Volunteers now shift their weight to one side of so that the idol can be immersed into the water

Ganpati Bappa Moriya Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa - Oh Lord Ganpati, return soon next year

Visarjan During Ganesh Chaturthi - 1

Visarjan During Ganesh Chaturthi - 1

Volunteers take the Ganesh idol deeper in water for immersion

Before the immersion as part of the ritual, volunteers chant prayers while they rotate the Ganesh idol

Volunteers are also seen take the Ganesh idol for immersion on a wooden plank. Here they make frantic gestures to get going.

Volunteers join in to push the wooden plank as they take the Ganesh idol deeper in water for immersion

Divine Power, Lord Ganesh - Portrait 3

Divine Power of Lord Ganesh - Portrait 3

Like I mentioned earlier, notice that the big idol is accompanied by a smaller idol. The small idol, known as the 'utsav moorti' bears the essence of divinity and is the one that is actually worshipped. On the other hand, the larger idol is mainly used to draw in the crowds at the mandals.

Devotees' Processions for Visarjan - 2

Devotees' Processions with Music and Dance for Visarjan, immersions, during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival

Devotees dance to the Dhol beats

No woman...no cry! Bob Marley's in the house!

The dhols get louder as the visrajan spot approaches

Devotees' Processions for Visarjan - 1

Devotees' Processions for Visarjan, immersions, during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival

A big procession makes its way for the visarjan

A celebrated procession

I only noticed this time that most big idols are also accompanied by a smaller idol. The small idol, known as the 'utsav moorti' bears the essence of divinity and is the one that is actually worshipped. On the other hand, the larger idol is mainly used to draw in the crowds at the mandals.

Little kids take up the responsibility of flag bearers

The Visarjan process during Ganesh Chaturthi

The Visarjan process during Ganesh Chaturthi

The prayers just before Visarjan

Devotees line up just before Visarjan

Devotees reach the banks for Visarjan, from where the volunteers take over

A volunteer takes the idol for immersion, Visarjan

PS: Photos in this post were shot in low lighting and heavy rain with a 55-250 zoom lens, without flash and tripod and far from the subjects. Apologies for the quality; hope to get it better in the coming days. 

Aarti before Visarjan

Aarti before Visarjan - Devotees recite prayers, before the immersions during Ganesh Chaturthi

Aarti during Ganesh Chaturthi

Aarti during Ganesh Chaturthi - Devotees recite prayers and hymns during the Ganesh Chturthi festival

Lord Ganesh - Portrait 1

Lord Ganesh - Portrait 1

The Lord is Home

The Lord is Home to Bless - A Setup of Lord Ganesh for the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi

Awaiting The Lord

Awaiting The Lord - A Setup for Ganesh Chaturthi festival, seen a day prior to bringing home Lord Ganesh