Team Herald

PANJIM: The five-day Ganesh festival kicked off with zeal and fervour across the State on Thursday.

 The festival began with devotees, mostly attired in traditional clothes, bringing colourfully-crafted idols of Lord Ganesh  in their homes and pandals and installing them amid chants of 'Ganapati bappa moraya', beating of drums.

Several beautifully decked up pandals have been erected in all major cities and towns in the state, where huge idols of Lord Ganesh have been placed on raised platforms for people to worship.

These makeshift tents organise various programmes during the festival.

In view of the festival, police across the state have beefed up security.

Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, is also celebrated across the country as birthday of Lord Ganesh which comes to an end after five days when people come out in large numbers for immersing the idols in the sea or in different water bodies.

 The festival sees devotees offering to the deity various sweets as prasad, of which 'modak' (sweet rice flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery) is an integral part.

According to Hindu mythology, modak is believed to be Lord Ganesha's favourite sweet. As per the rituals, 21 modaks are offered to the God and eventually served to devotees.