Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as
Vinayaka Chaturthi or
Vinayaka Chavithi or
Vinayagar Chaturthi, is a Hindu festival birthday of Hindu deity Lord Ganesh. The festival is marked with the installation of Lord Ganesha's clay
murtis privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals. Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and
vrata (fasting). Offerings and
prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as
modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called
visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 Murtis are immersed annually. Thereafter the clay Murti dissolves and Lord Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.