Festivals
Mumbai residents celebrate Western and Indian celebrations and festivals. Festivals and celebrations are observed by residents of all communities and religions. Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Navratri, Good Friday, Id, Dussera, Moharram, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Maha Shivratri are some of the festivals in the city.
Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most major festivals, celebrated in the city with great fervour. This festival involves the placing of an idol of Lord Ganesha in the house for either 1½, 3,5,7 or 11 days after which it is immersed in the ocean after a colourful and noisy parade. This festival was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak as a means of unifying all the people. This is primarily celebrated by Maharashtrians but almost all Mumbaikars participate in one way or another. The city holds an annual gay pride parade on in the middle of Summer.
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Famous quotes containing the word festivals:
“This is certainly not the place for a discourse about what festivals are for. Discussions on this theme were plentiful during that phase of preparation and on the whole were fruitless. My experience is that discussion is fruitless. What sets forth and demonstrates is the sight of events in action, is living through these events and understanding them.”
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)