Ganpati Bappa abroad: Gujarat-origins celebrate festival with awe

Gujaratis are celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi abroad, away from their homeland, with the same enthusiasm. In Toronto, Canada, a group of youngsters from Surat has been celebrating Ganesh Utsav for the past seven years. Every year, they set up Ganpati with a different theme.

This year, inspired by the valor of the Indian Army, they chose the theme of ‘Operation Sindoor’, which is also being adopted by many Ganesh pandals in India. They said, “After witnessing the bravery of our soldiers, we decided to dedicate this year’s Ganesh celebration to Operation Sindoor.”

Ravi Kadiwala, Bhaumik, Swapnil, Minal Prajapati, and Ankit Patel—all working professionals in Canada—take out time from their jobs to prepare fresh meals and sweets daily for Ganpati.

When these youngsters had first gone abroad for studies and jobs, their biggest struggle was food. They would manage by cooking together or relying on frozen food. But during the ten days of Ganesh Utsav, they prepare fresh meals every morning and evening for Lord Ganesha, and even observe the tradition of offering Chhappan Bhog (56 varieties of food) on one day. 

Mehta family from Billimora celebrates Ganesh Utsav in Stouffville, Canada

Originally from Billimora, Rajiv Mehta and his family have been living in Stouffville for the past 23 years. Despite living abroad, they celebrate Indian traditions and festivals with devotion. Their children, Shiv and Riya, were born in New Zealand, yet they have been raised with the values of Sanatan Dharma and also take part in Ganesh Utsav celebrations. 

Rajiv’s wife, Hiral Mehta, said, “Just like every year, we welcomed Ganpati Bappa at home this year too. Neighbors and friends from the community also join in for darshan and prayers.”

Bappa in Australia at Patel’s

Sanjay Patel’s children, Pearl and Shyam, have gone to Australia for higher studies and live in Brisbane with their brother. Together with Keyur and Priyanka Patel, they set up Ganpati at home. 

On the first day, they performed the pran-pratishtha after reading holy scriptures, and for the visarjan, they plan to follow proper Brahmin rituals. Along with them, other students from Surat who are currently studying in Australia also participated, which reminded them of Ganesh Utsav back home in Surat.

In Auckland, New Zealand, Gujaratis gather together to celebrate Ganesh Utsav.

Many Gujaratis reside in Auckland, and whenever a festival comes, they celebrate collectively. This year, Niki Patel and Harsh Patel hosted Ganpati at their home. They bought an eco-friendly idol from a local Indian store, and other Gujarati families joined in the prayers and worship. Since immersion in lakes or rivers is prohibited there, they performed visarjan at home. The clay from the idol will later be distributed as prasad to visiting devotees, who can use it in pots or for planting.