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MUMBAI, INDIA, September 21, 2002: Hundreds of thousands of devotees bid farewell to their favorite Lord Ganesha on Friday, immersing icons of the Deity amidst shouts of “Ganapati bappa morya, pudchya varshi lavkar yaa,” a ritual that marks the end of the 10-day festival. Huge icons of the lord smiled at the devotees as they were taken to the beach for immersion while young boys and girls, danced to the tune of the drum and tasha. Ganesha icons of all sizes and shapes and in a riot of colors made their way majestically onto the Chowpatty sands. At one count, 443 large icons and 8,785 small icons had been immersed at Chowpatty. Devotees milled around bidding farewell by performing the last arati (worship with lamps) of this year’s festival before leading the popular deity into the waters. Many families with small children and grandparents could be seen bidding good-bye to the Ganesha icons that had enlivened their homes for the last ten days.

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