Ganesh Chaturthi

Explosive dance and colour in Jaipur

By Jasmine Hines

Men carry a statue of Lord Ganesha into the lake.

A man in a crowd with a drum band around his neck lifts his shirt to cover his neck.

Preparation: a drummer lifts his shirt to protect his neck.

A man in a crowd is pictured with a drum swinging from his neck.

Mid-flight, the drum swings around his neck.

Ganesh Chaturthi is the wildly popular 10 to 12 day festival in India which celebrates Lord Ganesh's birthday.

The elephant God of knowledge and wisdom is commemorated annually during the period of September through to October.

As the festival begins, Hindu's buy idols of Lord Ganesha to worship in their homes for up to 11 days.

The idols are then removed from homes, to be taken on a sensational ceremonial procession through the streets of Jaipur.

Finally, the idols are fully immersed into water. In Jaipur, the man made lake of the Jal Mahal palace is the most common body of water that idols are taken to.

Local Hindu Mihir Mishra said the lake is cleared about three months after the festival to maintain cleanliness of the lake.

Men hold a statue of Lord Ganesh.

Jal Mahal palace is surrounded by water. A tree with a garland of red hibiscus flowers is in the left of the picture.

The Jal Mahal's man made lake is the most common body of water used for the procession in Jaipur. Fresh flowers and garlands are common at the festival as they signify divinity. Lord Ganesh is usually offered red hibiscus.

From a tourist perspective, the celebration is an explosion of colour, dance and music.

In the heat of the moment, one man swings a drum by his teeth.

Coloured powder is common in festivals in India, such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Holi.

Gulal is the traditional Hindi name for the colours, which translates literally in English as "pink colour". Gulal represents joy to festival goers.

Gulal is traditionally made of dried petals, but modernisation has changed the powder to include chemicals that create brighter colours.

While Ganesh Chaturthi's coloured powders have changed, the traditional festival remains one of the biggest in India.