Navaratri fete begins with Ganesh festival on Monday

Sri Ganapati Navaratri celebrations will be organised on a grand scale from September 5 to 16 at the famous Sri Ganapati temple near Secunderabad Railway Station. According to Executive Officer Gajaraju Narsimhulu, the events to be conducted during the fortnight include daily pooja from 6 am after the installation of Sri Mrunmaya Ganapati idol to be brought in a procession from Sri Panduranganatha Temple,

‘Kkalyanam’ (Sept 9), ‘Lakshbilwarchana’ (Sept 11), ‘Vratham’(Sept 13), ‘Shanti Prakaranam’(Sept 14) and ‘Rathotsavam’(Sept 15). The idol will be immersed in Vinayakasagar on September 16 to mark the conclusion of the celebrations.

The EO said there would be cultural programmes daily at 5 pm during the Navaratri, discourses by Gouribhatla Somanatha Sarma Siddhanti from 6 pm and Kuchipudi natyam from 6.30 pm by P Lasya Praniti, K Niharika, Jwalamuki, Srisrimani, Suryapralash, M Kantha Rao, Gayatri School of Kuchipudi, Sailaja Naidu-Murari Rammohan Rao on September 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

The Ganesh idol was found by armymen in an old well in 1824. Later when the railway station was built near the temple the SCR officials got the ‘garbhalayam’ constructed and installed the idol. In 1976 Pushapagiri Peetadhipathi Vidyanrusimha Bharati Swamy performed ‘kumbabhishekam’ of the ‘mahagopuram’.

While in 1980 the temple’s pratishta took place, in 1985 Sringeri Peetadhipathi Bharati Teertha Swamy and in 2014 Pushapagiri Peetadhipathi Sri Abhinavodhanda Vidyanrusimha Swamy installed various idols in the Ganesh temple.