According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the Son of Shiva (The God of Destruction in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator - Preserver-Destroyer) and parvati (Shiva's consort). The cutest and most lovable Indian God, Ganesha or Ganpati has the head of an elephant on which rests an eleganttiara, four podgy hands joined to a sizeable belly with each hand holding its own symbolic object - a trishul or a trident in one, an ankush or goad (made from his very, own broken tooth) in another, a lotus in the third and a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by modaks, his favourite sweet) in the fourth. Revered as the deity of auspiciousness and wisdom Lord Ganesha is also famous for being a trickster and for his profound sense of humour.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh was born on a fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of magh. Since then, an association between Ganesh and Chaturthi has been established. Thus the festival dedicated to the worship of Lord Ganesha on this chaturthi day is named as Ganesh Chaturthi.

There is a curiously interesting tale about the birth of Ganesha. It is believed that once while Parvati was bathing, she created a human figure from some unguent and balm, gave him life and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. After a long period of meditation on Mountain kailash (Lord shiva's abode), shiva chose that very moment to drop by to see his better half, but was abruptly stopped by the man-god parvati had posted at the door. Outraged by the cheek of this stranger, shiva cut off his head only to discover moments later that he had killed parvati's son! For fear of enraging his wife, shiva immediately dispatched his ganas (attendants) to get him the head of the first living creature they could find. Well, the first living creature happened to be an elephant. As instructed, the head was chopped off and brought back to shiva,who placed it on parvati's son's body, bringing him back to life. This elephant - headed god was welcomed into the first family of the Hindu heavens and named Ganesha or Ganapati,which literally means the chief of the ganas, or the attendants of shiva. Ganesha is the fore most god of the Hindu pantheon. This brave guardian of the door to parvati's bath is beheld today as the most auspicious god of new beginnings. He is worshipped during every festival and before people undertake a journay or embark upon a new venture. You will also see him carefully guarding entrances to temples and homes, peeping out of calendars and happily gracing marriages and other such occasions.

It is not known when and how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated. But according to the historian shri Rajwade, the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be traced back to the times of the reigns of dynastics as satavahana, Rashtrakuta and chalukya. Historical records reveal that ganesh chaturthi celebrations were initiated in maharashtra by chatrapati sivaji maharaja, the great maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism. And it had continued ever since. There are also references in history to similar celebrations during peshwa times. It is believed that Lord Ganapati was the family deity of the peshwas. After the end of peshwa rule, Ganesh Chaturthi remained a family affair in Maharashtra from the period of 1818 to 1892.

1857 was a landmark year for India and moreso in the context of India freedom. It was the year of sepoy mutiny, an armed rebellion against the ruling British Empire by the Indian Soldiers. This was the first war that India waged to gain back her independence from her white rulers. Though unsuccesful, this battle marked the beginning of the Indian struggle fro independence. Many orators, leaders and freedom fighters all over India teamed to put up a united resistance to the British domination. One of there eminent leaders was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter. Greatly esteemed by the Indian people, especially of Maharashtra, Tilak was commonly referred to as Lokmanya or he who is regarded by the people. It was Tilak, who brought back the tradition of Ganesh Chaturthi and reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event.

Lokamanya saw how Lord Ganesha was worshipped by the upper stratum as well as the rank and file of India. The visionary that he was,Tilak realized the cultural importance of this deity and populariesed Ganesh chaturthi as a national festival to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them in his nationalistic strivings against the british in maharashtra. He knew that india couldn't fight her rulers until she solved the differences within her own. Hence, to unite all social classes tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for india protest against British rule because of his wide appeal as the god for Everyman.

It was around 1893, during the nascent stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. He was the first to put in large public images of Ganesha in pavilions and establish the tradition of their immersion on the tenth day. The festival facilitated community parti tion and involvement in the form of learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. It served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities, at a time when all social and political gatherings were forbidden by the British Empire for fear of conspiracies to be hatched against them. An important festival during the peshwaera, Ganesha Chaturthi acquired at this time a more organized form all over India largely due to Lokmanya's efforts.

Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra as also in other states with great community enthusiasm and parti tion with the independence of India in 1949, it was proclaimed to be a national festival.