GANESH CHATURTHI is the Hindu festival celebrated on the birthday (Re-birth) of Lord Ganesha - 14 September 2026

 

GANESH CHATURTHI is the Hindu festival celebrated on the birthday (Re-birth) of Lord Ganesha - the Son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a magnificent festival, honoring the birth of Lord Ganesha. According to Hindu calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in the month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (4th day of the waxing moon). The date usually falls between 14th August to 25th September.

This year, Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on Monday, 14th of September 2026. The festival lasts for 10 or 12 days, ending on Anant Chaturdashi which is on Friday, 25th September this year. A life-like clay model of Lord Ganesha is made 2-3 months prior to the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. They are beautifully decorated and are portrayed in various poses. The size of these statues may vary from few inches to over several feet.

On the day of the festival, idol is placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents (Pandals) for people to view and pay their tribute to Lord Ganesha. The priest, usually attired in red silk dhoti and shawl, invokes life into the idol by chanting the mantras. This ritual is called 'Pran-Pratishtha'. After this, the 'Shhodashopachara' (16 ways of paying tribute) follows in which Coconut, Jaggery, 21 'modakas', 21 'durva' blades and red flowers are offered. The main sweet dish during the festival is the Modak. Another popular sweet made during this festival is Karanji. Both the sweets are cooked by similar recipe with same tastes and ingredients but they differ by their shapes. It is believed that Lord Ganesha is fond of these sweets. As per Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is considered as "Vighna Harta" (one who removes obstacles) and "Buddhi Pradaayaka" (one who grants intelligence). This festival is very important for students; they worship Lord Ganesha to illumine their minds.

LOVE AND LEARNING

 

LOVE AND LEARNING

“So, what work do you actually do?” Sati asked coyly like any newly married wife.

“I meditate,” Shiva answered.

“No, I meant what work do you do as in work?”

“I meditate,” He answered again with a strange smile.

“I don’t understand,” She said.

“For most people, a livelihood and a way of life are two different things. For me, it is all one,” He said.

“And you and I are one,” She said, drawing close to Him.

“Yes,” He smiled.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

SHIVA'S WELCOME

 

SHIVA'S WELCOME

“Welcome,” said Himavat, and he put forward his hands, slowly turning them towards the palace, in a respectful manner, albeit replete with the style of a great emperor.

Ever so gracefully, Nandi folded his legs, lowering his height and making way for His Lord to disembark. Shiva stepped on the grounds of Himavat’s Kingdom, and it seemed the ground was blessed.

Himavat stepped forward and put a garland of flowers around Shiva’s right arm. Shiva lifted His arm, drew the garland next to His face, and its sweet fragrance wafted in. He bowed His forehead onto the garland, in respect.

It was a mark of acknowledgment and acceptance of the honour being bestowed upon Him. Secretly, He longed for the garland that Parvati would put around His neck in eternal wedlock, called jaimala.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.Part 2

HEAVEN

 

HEAVEN

At the thought of Heaven, images of snow clad mountains and a certain indescribable joy of togetherness would then inevitably come rushing to His mind. Another image almost always linked itself to the landscape. A gypsy tribe of fierce men, and gorgeous women dancing around a bonfire of pure warmth; a bonhomie that was incomparable in the entire universe.

A bonhomie that He had now understood, led intergalactic travellers to search for this tribe like the Holy Grail. If discoverers of the cosmos, and time travellers could find the tribe, surely the mountain chieftain and His Queen would be spotted in the midst of it all.

Parvati was the Queen jewel actually, seated in His heart, around whom all the rest rallied to form a masterpiece of Shiva’s eternal adornment.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. Part 2

SHIVA MAHAKAAL, THE ARRIVAL OF TIME

 

One day, She asked Shiva,“When are we going to wed?”
“Whenever you wish,” He replied. “Today?”
“Haha! Not today my Lord!” Sati laughed.“You must ask my father to give me away as a bride to you, and then he would be arranging the most fabulous celebrations, which is his style and his prerogative.”
“Yes. A fabulous celebration of your marriage is his prerogative, also,” Shiva smiled. “I will ask him for your hand very soon.”

He went the very next day. Unlike all the others, Shiva did not ever wait for a different phase of the moon to signal Him His beginnings. He went by His own instinct and emotion, and this time it was overwhelming.
It was a sunny morning, and Shiva was feeling good. He readied Nandi for a ride to Daksha’s palace.
Nandi himself was in a hurry and charged in true bull fashion to their collective destiny. Together, they made a momentous sight: the Rider and the Ride. Raising merry dust with their hooves, every moment relegated to the past. It was like the perfect symbolism of the ride of time itself, as they rushed forward to embrace the future.
And soon, they reached the outskirts of Daksha’s kingdom. Nandi’s furious run was still heavy with the vigour of purpose, still robust with the virility of expectation. Women plowing their rice fields looked up to see this unstoppable creature heralding his master just past their midst. They were here one moment, and off the fields in the next. But the impression would be a life-lasting one; the farmer women knew it was not just a rider that was being heralded, but a whole new time itself had arrived.
~ From the amazon book, SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

THE MAGIC OF LOVE - अद्भुत प्रेम का जादू

 

THE MAGIC OF LOVE

When i set out to write on Shiva, at first, I was overwhelmed by His infinite aspects: What could one write about Him, who is Timeless, Limitless and Boundless? And then, the question itself revealed the answer. One sure mark of Shiva, is that He is bound to Parvati. It is said of Shiva that He does not incarnate. Of Parvati's bhakti (devotion), it is said She is one who can make even Shiva incarnate.
He is Timeless, and yet when Parvati manifests, it is time for Shiva to arrive. He is formless, but when She arrives, He manifests form. She is His eternal soulmate, and they always find each other, through the mists of cosmic time, even through lifetimes; such is the magic of their love! For it is said, Parvati is His wife even from Her previous birth, when She was called Sati.
And I realised that behind the innumerable tales about Him,
at the core of the myriad roles that He plays out, Shiva's story,is essentially a love story, over and over again.

एक महान प्रेम कहानी

कोई भी उसके बारे में क्या लिख ​​सकता है, जो कालातीत,अपरिमीत और असीम है? और फिर, सवाल में ही जवाब का पता चला। शिवजी का एक निश्चित  चिन्ह है, वह देवी पार्वती जी से बंधे हुए हैं। शिव के बारे में कहा जाता है कि वह अवतार नहीं लेते हैं। पार्वती जी की भक्ति के बारे में कहा जाता है कि वह है जो शिव को भी अवतार लेने के लिए विवश कर सकती हैं ।
वह अपरिमीत (टाइमलेस) है, और फिर भी जब देवी पार्वती जी प्रकट होती है, तो शिव के आने का समय होता है। वह निराकार है, लेकिन जब पार्वती आती  हैं, शिवजी रूप प्रकट करते है। वह उनकी शाश्वत आत्मा है, और वे हमेशा एक दूसरे को खोजते हैं, लौकिक समय के जीवनकाल के माध्यम से भी; कुछ इस तरह सा अद्भुत उनके प्यार का जादू है! इसके लिए कहा जाता है, पार्वती उनकी पत्नी हैं, उनके पिछले जन्म से भी, जब उन्हें सती कहा जाता था।
शिव एक महान योगी, गणों के एक महान प्रमुख, दुष्टों का नाश करने वाले, महान शिक्षक, और बहुत अधिक आश्चर्यजनक चीजें करने के लिए जाने जाते हैं, लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि वे विवाह के ईष्ट हैं! और उनके बारे में असंख्य कहानियों के पीछे, असंख्य भूमिकाएँ जो वह निभाते हैं, शिव की कहानी, अनिवार्य रूप से एक प्रेम कहानी है!
ओम् नमः शिवाय।

Hindi translation yash nr

`( Author's preface- )

SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

MOTHER OF THE MOTHER : MENA RANI AND DURGA

 

MOTHER OF THE MOTHER : MENA RANI AND DURGA

“Arise, O Yogini! You have prayed to me in the deepest solitude for more than five hundred years. You have not been bothered about hunger, nor have you let the changing seasons, the blistering sun, the thundering rains, or the biting cold affect you in any way. Not once have your lips stopped chanting, ‘Aum Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Vichaye Namah.’ So ask, O Devi, what do you want?”

“Aum Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundaye Vichaye Namah,” repeated Mena.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. Part 2