Chennai, Sep 14 (PTI) The fragrance of flowers, fresh banana leaves and steaming jaggery filled the air across Tamil Nadu on Monday as millions of families welcomed clay idols of Lord Ganesha into their homes to mark Vinayaka Chaturthi.
From household pujas to grand temple rituals and towering neighbourhood pandals, the state resonated with chants of “Pillayar”, the affectionate and commonly used Tamil name for Ganesha, and devotional music.
Devotees queued up at dawn outside the state’s iconic shrines for special Maha Abhishekams (grand ritual bathing) and elaborate floral decorations (alankarams).
At the historic Kapaleeswarar Temple in Chennai, the festivities began with an early-morning Ganapathy Homam.
The Narthana Vinayagar idol was anointed with holy water, milk, sandalwood and honey before being adorned with a glittering gold kavacham (armour), drawing thousands of devotees to the flower-lined Mada streets.
In Madurai, the festivities centred on the imposing 7-foot monolithic Mukkuruni Vinayagar at the famed Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, where priests continued a centuries-old tradition by preparing and offering a giant ‘Mukkuruni Kozhukattai’, a sweet dumpling made of rice flour, to the deity.
Adding to the festivities, devotees and temple priests gave Durga, a five-year-old elephant recently brought from Assam, a grand floral welcome. She will now share the temple premises with Parvathi, its older resident elephant.
In Tiruchirappalli, thousands of devotees climbed the 417 steep steps to the 7th-century Ucchi Pillayar Temple, perched atop the 273-foot Rockfort, to mark Vinayaka Chaturthi.
The hilltop shrine also began its 14-day Peruvizha festival with the offering of a mammoth 25-kg Kozhukattai to the deity.
Chennai, too, joined the festivities, blending traditional devotion with the city’s distinctive pop-culture flavour. Neighbourhood pandals in Triplicane, Mylapore and several other parts of the city drew crowds with elaborate idols and creative themes inspired by Hindu mythology, popular cinema and contemporary culture.
At Eral in Tuticorin district, devotees put up a replica of the Tirupparankundram temple deepathoon (stone pillar), with Ganesha depicted lighting the lamp.
The installation expressed their wish to light the Karthigai Deepam atop the ancient deepathoon at the controversial site near a Dargah.
At Puliakulam in Coimbatore, special pujas and alankarams marked Chaturthi at the Sri Arulmigu Mundhi Vinayagar Temple, where the deity is 19 feet 10 inches high, 11 feet 10 inches wide and weighs 190 tonnes. The idol is carved out of a single block of granite.
The deity was decorated with 50 kg of sandalwood paste on the occasion.
A temple elephant joined a procession taken out as part of the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations in Rameswaram.
In Cuddalore, a 74-kg laddu Vinayagar was consecrated at a sweet shop, while devotees in Denkanikottai installed an elaborate Vinayakar stage themed on the film ‘Kantara-2’.
In Tiruvannamalai, a Ganesha idol made with 51,000 rudraksha beads was among the major attractions this year.
Across the state, colourful Vinayaka idols crafted from eco-friendly materials added to the festive fervour.
In Madurai, devotees installed a Vinayaka made of dharba grass, while a 30-foot-tall idol surrounded by 15,000 earthen lamps drew attention in Manali New Town near Chennai.
A Vinayaka depicted playing on a swing was installed in Ramapuram, while Perambur showcased a unique Vastra Vinayaka made of dhotis, saris and towels.
In Villupuram, a 9-foot eco-friendly Ganesha idol made using 35 kg of sandalwood paste was installed.
In Coimbatore, a Lord Ganesha idol was adorned with a garland made of Rs 5 lakh worth of Rs 500 currency notes, while a unique idol made of currency coins and installed in Chennai’s T Nagar also drew the attention of devotees.
Inspired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s film ‘Ghilli’, his fans installed three idols resembling him at R K Nagar in Chennai.
The idols depicted Vinayaka in different avatars—standing in a black blazer, wearing a T-shirt and riding a bicycle with a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam shawl draped over his shoulder.
As part of the public celebrations, the Hindu Munnani began installing around 1.5 lakh Ganesha idols across the state, following traditional idol installation rituals. In Chennai alone, 5,501 public idols were installed at various locations across Valluvar Kottam, Triplicane, North Chennai and Kottivakkam.
Organisers said the public idols, crafted mainly by traditional artisans in Ernavur, were made using eco-friendly natural materials in compliance with environmental regulations.
To maintain public order and protect the coastal ecosystem, the Greater Chennai Police deployed 16,500 personnel and 500 Home Guards to oversee the 1,562 officially approved public idols in the city.
The grand immersion processions, or Visarjan, are scheduled for the coming weekend, with the celebrations expected to peak on September 19 and 20.
Following directives from the National Green Tribunal to protect marine ecology, traditional immersion points at Pattinapakkam and Neelankarai beaches remain restricted.
Instead, authorities have designated 17 procession routes leading to water bodies, including Kasimedu Fishing Harbour in North Chennai, Thiruvottriyur, behind the weighing machine, and Srinivasapuram.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and leaders of various political parties greeted the people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. PTI JSP SSK
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