As Ganesh festival arrives, it is family reunion time in Goa

The 104-year-old home of the Kuvelkar family in South Goa’s Raia village will once again bear witness to the grand old tradition of the coastal state of kin from far and wide arriving to unitedly celebrate Ganesh festival.

The festival, which begins on August 31, is celebrated with pomp and splendour across Goa, leading to a rush on state-bound trains, especially from the Konkan region of neighbouring Maharashtra.

”The house was built in 1918 by our great-great grandfather Sadashiv Kuvelkar. All the families used to live together in the house till 1966, before we started moving out for work etc. It remains closed through the year since 1966 but comes to life during Ganesh Chaturthi as kin arrive from all over Goa and as far as Mumbai,” Saidutt Kuvelkar, a doctor, said.

”All traditional food cooked for Ganesh festivities are prepared even now. The men wear dhotis and the women wear nine-yard sarees. The family reunion greatly enthuses all of us,” he added.

Similar is the fervour in the 80-year-old ancestral home of media professional Neeraj Bandekar in Palolem in Canacona, an area known for its beach but which gets immersed in Ganesh festivities during this time of the year.

”All my five uncles gather at our house. The preparation for the festival starts well in advance. Everyone contributes equally to make the occasion a grand success. In Goa, it is a time when families comes together,” Bandekar said.

A Konkan Railway Corporation Limited official said it was running extra trains from Mumbai due to the season rush as people from all areas along the Konkan coast in Maharashtra make a beeline for their native villages in Goa.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)