Ganesh Utsav in Karlsruhe

Usually the months of August and September are devoted to the festivities involving Lord Ganesha in most parts of India. Ganesha, Ganpati, Bappa, Vighnaharta, he has many names. He is the god of beginnings, wisdom and luck and worshipped as the remover of obstacles. Although he has many attributes, he is easily identified by his elephant head and four arms. And there is a lot of symbolism involved. His elephant head denotes wisdom and intellect, his large ears for listening more and small mouth to talk less, his large stomach for peacefully digesting all the good and bad in life, his trunk symbolising high efficiency and adaptability, the mouse is a symbol of desires, if not kept under control can create havoc in life. 

He is one of the most revered gods amongst the Hindus and his blessings are always sought for undertaking any new endeavour. Mumbai is considered to be the hub of Ganpati festivities and the celebration go on upto 10 days in a public place and at individual homes for 1.5, 5, 7 or 10 days. This year the festival being in August, many friends are in India to celebrate the same. And just when we were missing the Mumbai fun of the Ganesha festival, I was approached by a friend about a sarvajanik (public) Ganesh utsav (celebration) in Karlsruhe and my joy knew no bounds!

How did this all start?

Aakansha and her husband teach Yoga here and are very active in many cultural programs in Karlsruhe.

The idea of organising a Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav had been on their minds for a few years, but the real planning began in October 2024. It was then that the thought of conducting a Ganesh Utsav took shape in their mind.

She mentioned this to Ajeya, who is a practicing Hindu priest and a student at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology here and their family friend, Vijay who whole heartedly supported her idea and decided to take up this challenge.

At the beginning of 2025, Aakansha started approaching the different goverment offices to seek approval and permission to host such a festival. The immersion of the Ganesha idol also required certain protocols to be followed. It is a lengthy process in Germany to get things done and nothing can be really done without proper approvals and permissions. She didn't lose her patience and finally in July, she got all the necessary permissions and the preparations began. 

It was going to be a 5 days festival along with the Pratisthapana (installing the idol) till the Visarjan (immersion). A lot of brainstorming happened in the background. The website (www.utsavkarlsruhe.com) was launched and a detailing of all the 5 days was published there.

It involved:

1. Daily morning and evening havan/homa (Hindu fire ritual involving offerings into a sacred fire while reciting Vedic mantras to invoke deities)

2. Pooja & Aarti

3. Bhajan, Stotras and Cultural perfomances

4. Prasad distribution

5. Visarjan on final day

The event schedule was published for all the days. Google forms were published for registering for the Havan and Pooja. Volunteer groups were formed for decoration, preparing the prasad and seva (involving setting up and managing tents, logistics, etc.). A WhatsApp community was formed to educate people about the upcoming festival and finally the day arrived. 

On 26th the Pratisthapana was done and the event was inaugurated on a grand scale. The idol was handcrafted by Ajeya himself, it weighed around 80 kgs and was installed in a grand pandal. When Lord Ganesha took his seat in the pandal, the atmosphere was filled with a divine and ineffable feeling. After that a deluge of people, volunteers, sevis, sadhaka flocked the venue on all days, depending on the event, in which they had registered themselves. The venue was decorated with flowers, a tent was created for the God and the people taking his darshan, sitting arrangement was done for the people. 

In the evening, during the aarti, bhajan and Pooja, the atmosphere was divine, blissful and everyone who was a part of the celebrations was happy and content from within. They were happy to have the festival happening for the first time in the city of Karlsruhe. People were only dreaming about having something like this in Karlsruhe, but Aakansha and the team made the dream of many come into reality.

For those who couldn't attend the event in person, the live streaming was available. Every program was made available live on the YouTube channel for the wider audience.

Arrangements were perfect. The food lovingly prepared by many families of Karlsruhe was served in the form of Prasad and it truly felt like a blessing. I am sure it not only filled everyone's tummies but also their hearts. 

On the day of Visarjan, there were about 100 people who accompanied in the procession towards Baggersee. The Bhajan group needs a special appreciation here who sang all the way, lifting the mood and creating a divine atmosphere. Kids, youngsters, elders, people like you and me enthusiastically took part in the procession and bid farewell to the beloved Ganesha who has promised to return next year with much more fun and frolic. 

A great help in managing everything were Sekhar Babu, Shyla Sekhar, Nandini Vijay Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Rajesh Srivastava. Not to forget the volunteer groups for Prasad, Decoration and seva who tirelessly toiled behind the scenes. 

There were lot of learnings from this festival. Where there is a will, there is a way. Someone thought of doing the Ganesh Utsav and took proper steps to achieve the goal. The first time is always difficult and paves a way for a smoother tomorrow. Festivals bring people closer and people help each other to make it a great success. Everyone united as Indians for a collective good and the beginning has been fantastic. I am sure there will be many more Ganesh Utsavs to come and we will all be a part of it in some way or the other. 

Ganpati Bappa Moraya!

Pudchya Varshi Lavkar ya! (Come soon next year)