DAVE VASUDEVAN
CHICAGO: The Naperville Indian community celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi for the fourth year in a row with lot of pomp and fervor earlier this month. The Fox Valley Ganesh Utsav Samithi pulled off another spectacular celebration for Lord Ganesha with two huge tents accommodating over 500 devotees erected for a week-long event.
The four-foot eco-friendly Ganesha idol was clad in pink ‘dhoti’ and a green ‘kanduva’, adorned with jewelry, and studded with colorful stones.
The idol was crafted in a traditional manner and installed in a beautiful pandal decorated with a temple theme. The golden shrine uniquely created and the backdrop and the décor was of different color for each day, and the devotees would complement it with their dress color.
The daily puja was performed by Nagendra Rao Sharma and Kishore, priests of Balaji temple in Aurora.
‘Prana Prathishta’ was done on the first day of installation. ‘Homam’, ‘Rudrabhishekam’, ‘Kubera Lakshmi puja’,and ‘Lalithasahasrakumkumarchana’ were some of the other rituals performed along with everyday Ganesha puja.
Anitha Pochampally and Haritha Munpally were the hands-on duo in taking care of the elaborate arrangements for the everyday puja. Many community members came forward to offer ‘Prasadam’.
Cultural activities were well coordinated and all the programs were devotional, traditional and focused on the praise of Lord Ganesha. Dhandia and the popular folk art from the region of Karnataka – ‘Yakshagana’ and the ‘Mohini Bhasmasura’ episode – were well received. Pranathi Tellapragada emceed the event. Traditional prayers and chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ filled the air.
On the last day of the festival, the idol was worshipped before being carried by hordes of people to be immersed in a large body of water. This immersion of the idols is known as ‘Ganesha Visarjan symbolizing that the god carries away all obstacles and problems with him, giving people a new start.
Several prominent leaders of the community including USCongressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Steve Chirico, Mayor city of Naperville, and. Prem Lalvani of Alliance of Midwest India Associations attended the festivities.
The entire program was well executed by core members like Krishna Mushyam, Sreekant Bethi, Kishore Pula, Dinesh Munpally, Kiran Pochampally, Ashok Pagadala, Vinoz Chanmolu, Sirisha Reddy, and Sailaja Bethi. A good number of volunteers relentlessly worked in the ten days of festivities.
