“Ganpati Bappa Morya”: Israeli envoy celebrates Maharashtrian cuisine

New Delhi [India], September 19 (ANI): On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, Israeli ambassador to India, Naor Gilon visited Maharashtra House and had a delightful exploration of state’s cuisine ranging from Lord Ganesha’s favourite ‘Modak’ to the street favourite ‘Vada Pav’.

“Ganpatti Bappa Morya. Embracing the festive spirit of #GaneshChaturthi, we embarked on a delightful exploration of Maharashtrian cuisine and also tried the divine #Modak, #Ganesh’s favorite. Can you guess where our food journey heads next?” Gilon posted on X (formerly Twitter).

During his visit, Gilon tasted several famous local Maharashtrian cuisines like Sol Kadhi, Vadapav and Sabudana Vada, Zhunki, Dal Palak and Bhakar, Shrikhand and Puran Poli, and Lord Ganesha’s favourite Modak.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu God Lord Ganesha. It is celebrated every year with great fervour, with thousands of devotees thronging temples and pandals for a darshan of the Lord.

The ten-day-long celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi began today.

Taking to ‘X’, PM Modi wrote, “Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to the countrymen! Ganpati Bappa Morya!”

In another ‘X’ post, he wrote, “Greetings to my family members across the country on Ganesh Chaturthi. May this holy festival associated with the worship of Vighnaharta-Vinayak bring good luck, success and prosperity in the lives of all of you. Ganpati Bappa Morya!”.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Meanwhile, a morning ‘Aarti’ was performed at Shri Siddhivinayak Temple in Maharashtra’s Mumbai as the celebration of Ganeshotsava began today.

Devotees also gathered at the Vinaynagar temple in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul, in large numbers to get a glimpse of ‘Bappa’.

A huge gathering of devotees thronged the two-centuries-old shrine dedicated to Lord Ganesha.

In Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, a pandal bearing close resemblance to Bharat’s successful lunar mission- Chandrayaan-3 aircraft, is to be on public display.

Many prominent Ganesh Utsav committees in Kolkata have erected big and elaborately designed pandals on special themes.

A theme-based pandal depicting the Chandrayaan-3 mission has been erected at Kali Bari.

Another Ganesh pandal themed on Ayodhya’s Ram Temple has been put together in Maharashtra’s Pune by the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust.