Ganeshji brings with himself lots of joy, happiness and hope among the people of India. The celebrations for this auspicious festival have started today.

On Thursday morning the sound of aarti for the 'sthapan puja' could be heard. This is a ritual whereby the Lord Ganesha is welcomed to his earthly abode for the next 10 days. Idols of every shape and size could be seen in various colonies, residential areas and even official buildings.

Since last week, idols were seen arriving from various artisan studios to different places. Around 2,50,000 idols were seen arriving in various shopping complex, individuals' home in Maharashtra. This festival is very popular among the people of the entire coastal Konkan region and Pune.

In Mumbai, around 12,500 registered associations, apart from the 40,000 private housing complexes would observe the special occasion. Every year, people from India and abroad, especially visit Mumbai at this time of the year to witness the grandeur when the rich and the poor, alike, come together to celebrate this festival.

This time, Karnataka, has taken a very positive step in celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi as they want people to go for an eco-friendly festival. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) hopes that the people listen to them, and make a fresh start with this year.

Festivities have started with the morning aarti and lots of modak for the children. As these days the social networking sites play an important part in our life hence everyone was greeting each other with ‘ganapati bappa moray,’ over Twitter and Facebook.