Tips for organizing the Ganesh festival in your apartment complex
In the previous article, you read about making a shopping list for Ganesh Festival. Now, here are some useful tips for how to plan and organizing the Ganesh festival in your apartment complex.
Celebration of Ganesh festival or Ganesh Chaturthi brings friends and relatives together as it is being considered now as a social festival besides its religious significance in Hindu religion. As living in apartments in a housing complex has become a common convention for most of us, celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in a community with friends and neighbor has become quite a regular practice, especially in metro cities. Howsoever, organizing such a versatile religious festival is not that easy unless you know how to plan the entire course of actions step by step.
Celebrations in apartment
Instead of arranging the whole program on personal initiative, it is better to ask for everybody’s involvement. You can generate a puja fund out of everybody’s contribution. The involvement will not only make it a social celebration, it will bring a wonderful synchrony within the community. Arrange for a general meeting prior to puja and on everybody’s consent print a general invitation card with all puja time and details. Distribute them between all society members.
Decorations
You need to select a central place for making the pandal where the Makhar of the Lord will be placed. Yellow and red are the favorite colors of Ganeshji, hence it is better to decorate the pandal mainly with these two colors. Make a big rangoli in front of the Makhar. Besides adding excellent festive ambience to the place, Rangoli brings a message of welcoming the Lord as well as all his devotes to the pandal. Ask for everybody’s participation in creation of Rangoli and for decoration of the pandal. Put a lot of lamps around. The lights will create a glittering illumination for creating a serene and bright ambience of worshipping Sidhdhidata who also loves to bring peace and enlightenment in between His devotees.
Eco friendly ways to celebrate Ganesh Festival: Going green
There are some easy ways where you can support going green resolution while celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. These are:
Buy Ganesh idol made with biodegradable materials so that after visarjan the residue cannot induce pollution to water and surroundings..
Avoid use of plastics and indulge the use CFL lamps for illumination of the pandal. These lights are not only energy efficient; they are safe for environment also.
Use natural colors for making Rongoli, like turmeric, mehendi, henna, rice powder, different colors of vegetable gulaal. Such colors have no adverse effect on human health and keep environment safe by all means.
Decorate the pandal with paper flowers, dolls and puppets made of cloth, and with recycled materials; use banana leaf for distribution of Prasad.
Take double care of noise pollution. Ask the youngsters to keep the volume low for music system. Do not use sound producing fire crackers, and with the festive days restrict use of loudspeaker, if any, between 6pm to 10 pm.
Safety during Ganesh Chaturthi
The safety protocols are to be maintained with best sincerity from starting of the festival till the end at visarjana.
While celebration is going on take double care of fire lamps inside the pandal.
Plan at least two emergency exits and store fire extinguisher
While enjoying fireworks in the evening, take care of kids and the fire sparks coming out of the crackers.
Check the electricity lines by authentic electrician so that there is no chance of having any accident of short circuit, etc.
While leading the procession for visarjana, take care of the procession; decide the route before you start moving out for the final immersion of the idol at the pre-decided destination.
Important Permission/NOC for Celebrating Ganesh Festival in apartments
Ganesh Chaturthi festival continues for 10-13 day. Therefore, the festival attracts a lot of unusual actions like playing music, chanting, and flow of guest in the pandal, etc. If you are staying in a housing complex, it is always wise and essential to get a prior permission from the housing administrative body, concern departments like NOC from corporation, health department, Fire, Police etc. This will help you in enjoying celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi festive actions gracefully with other residential members.
Planning for Ganesh Chaturthi Visarjan
It is customary to arrange the visarjan into the flowing water. According to Hindu religion, it is the most pious way to say adieu to Lord on His way back to heaven. In case, no flowing water stream is available at a nearby place, you can arrange the visarjan at the nearest pond or lake. But do not forget taking prior permission from the concerned authority on the immersion.
Symbolic immersion ideas
Growing consciousness about water pollution during idol Visarjan has familiarized the ideas of symbolic immersion in eco-friendly pseudo-ponds. Stone, metallic or wood made idols are emblematically immersed within bucketful water or to a natural water body, held the idol for some time under the water, and then bring it back at home.
Wish you all a Happy Ganesh Festival!!!
