Key Points

According to a release, these four picture postcards are specially designed for this event by Padma Shri awardee Achyut Palav, who was present for the release function.

The first glimpse (Pratham Darshan) of Lalbaugcha Raja was organised on Sunday at around 7 pm by The Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

The Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal Chairman Babasaheb Sudam Kambale, Secretary Sudhir Sitaram Salavi, Sudhir Jakhere, APMG (BD) Maharashtra Circle Yadagiri Nyalapelli, Asstt. Director (PSR) Maharashtra Circle and Philatelist Ashwini Manjure were present on the occasion.

Amitabh Singh, Chief PMG Maharashtra Circle, conveyed his greetings to all the devotees of Lord Ganesha and the philatelists across Maharashtra and Goa.

Every year, millions of devotees come here for darshan. The unveiling of the Lalbaugcha Raja, the iconic Ganesh idol, is also one of the main attractions of the festival.

The history of the Lalbaugcha Raja is quite famous, as it is the popular Ganesh Idol of Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, located at Putlabai Chawl, a worship place founded in 1934.

The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati idol has been taken care of by the Kambli family for over eight decades. Ganesh Chaturthi, a ten-day festival that starts on the fourth day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month 'Bhadrapada', will start on August 27 this year. This auspicious ten-day festival starts with 'Chaturthi' and ends on 'Anantha Chaturdashi'.

The festive period is also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayak Chavithi'. The festival celebrates Ganesha as the 'God of New Beginnings' and the 'Remover of Obstacles' as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence.

It is celebrated with much fanfare in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, with lakhs of devotees converging into mandals to seek blessings from Lord Ganesh.

For the festivities, people bring Lord Ganesh idols to their homes, observe fasts, prepare mouth-watering delicacies, and visit pandals during the festival.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways on August 20 announced that it will operate 392 special train trips during Ganesh Chaturthi to facilitate passenger travel and ease congestion during the festival.

The service will run from August 21 to September 10, the Railways said in a post on X, "For the convenience of passengers during Ganesh Chaturthi, Indian Railways has announced 392 train trips."

Earlier in July, the Maharashtra government declared the public Ganeshotsav as the "Maharashtra State Festival."

The announcement was made in the Legislative Assembly by Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar, who said the tradition of public Ganeshotsav was started in Maharashtra in 1893 by Lokmanya Tilak.

"This festival is deeply rooted in social, national, freedom, self-respect, and linguistic pride. It continues in the same spirit today. It is a matter of pride and honour for Maharashtra," Shelar had told the Assembly.

He emphasised that the Government of Maharashtra is committed to preserving and promoting the cultural significance and global presence of this festival.

- ANI