Happy Ganesh Chaturthi and Vishkarma Puja

Dear Readers,

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and Vishkarma Puja, the whole India is in celebration mood. This is just the starting of Festive Season where a lot of festivals are lined up. May this festival bring us the happiness, so Happy Ganesh Chaturthi and Vishkarma Puja.

Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated as Lord Ganesha's birthday by the Hindus throughout the world. He is considered as the eldest son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. This festival is also known as Vinayak Chaturthi or Vinayak Chavithi. It is celebrated with pomp and show in the Hindu calendar month of Bhadra that usually falls in between mid August and mid September.

It is not known when and how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated. Ganesh festival was being celebrated as a public event in Pune since the times of Shivaji (1630–1680), the founder of the Maratha Empire. The Peshwas, the de facto hereditary administrators of the Empire from 1749 till its end in 1818, encouraged the celebrations in their administrative seat Pune as Ganesha was their family deity (Kuladevata). With the fall of the Peshwas, Ganesh festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration again in Maharashtra till its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak.

The public festival as celebrated in Maharashtra today, was introduced by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale in 1892 by installing first Sarvajanik (Public) Ganesh idol. This followed a meeting at his residence, which was attended by, amongst others, Balasaheb Natu, and Krishnajipant Khasgiwale. Khasgiwale on his visit to the Maratha ruled princely state of Gwalior had seen the tradition of public celebration still maintained and brought it to the attention of his friends in Pune. In 1893 Lokmanya Tilak praised the concept of Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav in his newspaper, Kesari, and the next year he installed a Ganesh idol in Kesari Wada too.

Vishwakarma Day also known as Vishwakarma Jayanti or Vishwakarma Puja is a day of celebration for Vishwakarma, a Hindu god, the divine architect, and one of the fourteen precious things born of the Samudra manthan Reference required . He constructed the holy city of Dwarka where Krishna ruled, the Maya Sabha of the Pandavas, and was the creator of many fabulous weapons for the gods. He is also called the divine carpenter, is mentioned in the Rig Veda, and is credited with Sthapatya Veda, the science of mechanics and architecture.

It is celebrated generally on 17-18 September in Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Tripura. The festival is observed primarily in factories and industrial areas, often on the shop floor. As a mark of reverence the day of worship is marked not only by the engineering and architectural community but by artisans, craftsmen, mechanics, smiths, welders, industrial workers, factory workers and others. They pray for a better future, safe working conditions and, above all, success in their respective fields. Workers also pray for the smooth functioning of various machines. It is customary for craftsmen to worship their tools in his name, refraining from using the tools while doing so. Modern electronic servers are also worshipped for their smooth functioning. However in West Bengal viswakarma puja is celebrated either on 17 September or 18 September as per Bengali Calendar. In year 2015 this is celebrated on 18 the September.