Ganeshotsav 2026: How Catholics across Maharashtra embrace the celebrations

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Visiting a few friends on Day 1 of Ganeshotsav is Lester Dsouza’s fondest memory of celebrating the festival. It’s a ritual that he has observed for a long time now. 

He shares, “I have been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi since childhood. Visiting my friends’ homes and local pandals was something I have been doing since I was a child. So, it has been naturally integrated into my life. Besides, having secular-minded parents who always taught me to respect every religion has also played a huge role.” 

Dsouza is one of many Mumbaikars and Indians who join in the celebrations of Ganeshotsav every year. 

Mumbai’s cosmopolitan character means people from different communities come together to celebrate festivals throughout the year. The celebration, which began on September 14, will go on for 12 days this year, and people make the most of not just the first or the second day, but all the days of the festival. 

“While visiting friends, hopping from one place to another and eating modaks one after the other is easily my favourite memory. Sometimes there are random visitors who come to pray and pay their respects to the Ganpati idol, and families welcome them as their own, which is also why the festival is unique. That’s the true beauty of Ganesh Chaturthi,” shares the Vasai-based undertaker and funeral director. 

While his celebrations are usually focused on the first day, the 27-year-old’s love for the festival and spending time with his friends is likely to keep him celebrating in the years to come. 

“I may set out to see a few more pandals in and around Vasai with a few friends, which is a different level of fun in itself,” he adds. 

‘How the vibe of Mumbai changes is fascinating’ 

Elsewhere in Ambernath, Kayden Anthony, like Dsouza, celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi and Ganeshotsav with his friends, even though he is an atheist. For him, the festival has become a cultural celebration. 

He shares, “Since childhood I’ve been going to my neighbours’ and friend’s houses to celebrate festivals such as Laxmi Pooja during Diwali, too. I remember as kids in the building, we would gather at my friend’s place for Ganpati celebrations, and have modak after that. It was the one day we would all get along, without fighting.” 

Celebrating the festival has always been a unique experience for the 30-year-old Mumbaikar, who is a wildlife biologist. 

“The whole vibe of Mumbai is fascinating during this time of the year. During the rest of the year, we live an extremely fast-paced life and the city is busy. And then there is a drastic shift in the city’s mood, the colours, the decorations, and the celebrations.  It’s hard to wrap your head around how an entire city changes for a few weeks.” 

Carrying this spirit forward throughout the 11 days, Anthony says he and his friends try to celebrate Ganeshotsav in their own way, beyond the traditional rituals. 

“Our group of friends does it differently. Apart from the aarti and the food, we also have a games session with small challenges. We do it every year. So it’s a way we make it a little special,” he adds. 

There is more to the celebrations for Anthony, and it stems from his passion and occupation as a wildlife expert, who goes by the name @man_of_the_forest on Instagram, representing your “next door wildlife teacher” making Indian wildlife mainstream by simplifying it for Indians and people across the globe.

He shares, “Ganesh Chaturthi is the one Indian festival closest to nature in my opinion. Elephants are known for their intelligence and empathy, and so is Lord Ganesha.” 

From Goa, with love 

Elsewhere in Pune, Merav DSouza’s connection with Ganesh Chaturthi began in childhood. However, she started celebrating the festival more actively only later in life. The Goan was introduced to Lord Ganesha, popularly known as Ganpati Bappa, as a child. 

“When I was a child, my parents would take me around the city (Vasco Da Gama), to visit the Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals every Ganesh Chaturthi. I remember being fascinated by the huge Ganpati idols, the decorations, and the energy around the festival.” 

The early exposure shaped the way she saw the festival, even though DSouza grew up surrounded by the festivities of Christmas and every other Catholic tradition. 

She added, “There is one particular memory from my childhood that has stayed with me all these years. I was being extremely stubborn one evening, refusing to have dinner, crying and insisting that my parents take me to see Ganpati Bappa. Eventually, they gave in and took me, but just before we entered the mandal, my mother pointed out Ganpati Bappa’s raised hand (the one in which he is shown giving his blessings) and said that Ganpati Bappa was saying, “Stop right there, go back, finish your food and then come to see me”. I took it so much to heart that I went back home, finished my dinner, and came back to see him. That was where I connected with Ganpati Bappa for the first time.” 

DSouza’s familiarity with Lord Ganesha only deepened from there. She recalls, “The sukhkarta dukhharta aarti would weirdly give me goosebumps and calm me down at the same time (before I even knew what it meant). I would feel tears rolling down my face when I stood before him, as if all my pent-up and untouched emotions had been let free.” 

The 28-year-old’s connection with Lord Ganesha deepened further when she moved to Maharashtra for her schooling, where she was exposed to the festival in a different setting. 

“My friends make it a point to make me feel like a part of their celebrations at their respective houses every year, at least virtually. Of course, a lot of people do get curious about this side of me, and I love explaining it to them when they come to me with genuine questions.” 

Her fascination for the festival did not stop there, because she pursued college in Karnataka and realised how celebrations transcend states, but every place has its own uniqueness. However, she has a favourite. “There’s no doubt that the levels top in Maharashtra, and that is exactly how I like it.” 

Over time, she went from pandal-hopping and visiting temples to joining aartis and learning about what they mean, and the significance of rituals, making her own tiny modaks to offer to Bappa, and performing her own little aarti for a Bappa idol she found in the apartment she had moved into. Now, with an idol gifted by a friend, she dreams of welcoming Bappa into her own home one day. 

She reveals, “Someday, I’m hoping I’ll be able to welcome Ganpati Bappa into my own house in the most auspicious way possible.” 

Till then, she’s done something special for herself. 

“If you see my altar, you’ll see Ganpati Bappa and Jesus Christ together,” she adds. 

Celebrating every year has always been exciting for her, and this year is going to be no different. 

The nuclear medicine technologist concludes, “Looking back, I think each year has just got better. This year has to be the best so far because I’m finally in Pune, at the heart of the festival. I’m looking forward to hearing dhols and seeing clouds of gulal, and eating a lot of ukdicke modaks, and of course, bowing before Bappa at every corner of the street in the city.” 

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