I only have one planned vacation each year – a trip to my native place Murud-Janjira. It is a coastal town in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, about 160km from Mumbai. My grandfather left Murud to attend law school in Mumbai. 3 generations later, there is still one thing that keeps the extended family together and coming back to our native place – our temple.

A couple of centuries back, one Mr.Joshi had a dream about an idol of Lord Ganesha under a tree. They dug it up and indeed found a stone resembling in shape with a Ganesha idol. It was then handed over to our family to be worshiped. What must’ve started as a small shade in Nandgaon (10 kms short of Murud), is today a popular destination for devotees & tourists alike.

The Ganesh Chathurthi festival in the month of Bhaadrapada was  popularized by Lokmanya Tilak as a social event. But Ganesh Jayanti, Ganesha’s birthday if you will, is actually celebrated in the lunar month of Maagh Continue reading How our Maghi Ganesh Utsav binds us together →