Ganesh Chaturthi, in order
The ten things you do across the festival, shuffled. Put them back in the order they are actually done in, and learn why each one sits where it does.
Tap whichever one you think comes next.
Get it wrong and nothing is lost. It tells you, and you try again. Each one you place explains why it goes there.
Or just read the order
- 1Clean the room and cover the chowkiThe day beforeHe is installed on a seat that was made ready before he arrived, not one cleared in a hurry around him.
- 2Decorate the makhar behind the seatThe day beforeThe backdrop goes up while the seat is still empty. Working around an installed murti is avoided.
- 3Bring the murti homeChaturthi morningTraditionally carried home on the morning itself, with the face covered until it is set down.
- 4Pran pratishtha — install him and invite him inChaturthi morningThis is the moment the murti stops being clay and becomes a guest. Everything after it is hospitality.
- 5Offer sindoor and akshataAfter the installationThe first of the sixteen offerings. Sindoor on the forehead, then unbroken rice.
- 6Offer 21 blades of durvaAfter the installationTwenty-one, tied in bunches of three. Durva is his, the way tulsi is Krishna's.
- 7Offer the first modakAfter the installationHis favourite, and the first food he is given in the house.
- 8Light the karpoor and do the aartiMorning and eveningCamphor at the close of every aarti, twice a day, for as long as he stays.
- 9Uttarpuja — thank him and ask leaveThe last dayYou do not simply take a guest to the door. He is thanked and permission is asked before he is moved.
- 10Visarjan — carry him to waterThe last dayGanpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya. Come again soon, next year.