Ganesh Chaturthi Sep 7, 2024

Ganesh Chaturthi

Get ready to dance and paint the town red; it"s Ganesh Chaturthi. The festival honours Ganesha, revered as the Hindu deity of fresh starts and the dispeller of challenges, along with being the embodiment of wisdom and intellect. Celebrated across the Indian subcontinent, it brings together people in a joyous observance. The exact origins of the festival are not clear, but it has been a prominent public celebration in Pune since the time of King Shivaji, who ruled from 1630 to 1680. Later freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar popularised it in Maharashtra in 1893. This move aimed to foster a "Hindu nationalist identity" and resist British colonial rule.

© Priti Bhatt/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Back to the future
Sep 7, 2023Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
Sep 7, 2025Gdańsk on the banks of the Motława river, Poland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

A curious little otter pup
Purple mountain majesties
Feb 14, 2025Happy Valentines Day!
Oct 23, 2024Madame Sherri Forest, New Hampshire, United States
MPs most photographed big cat
Nov 30, 2023Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK
Dec 15, 2023SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
Mar 1, 2025Sandstone hoodoos, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States
Nov 15, 2024Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Jun 25, 2024Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA
May 15, 2024The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Jan 24, 2026Andermatt village in the Alps, Switzerland
May 7, 2024A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
Jan 12, 2024Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
Meet an expert on the dog days of summer
Dont just fly, darling. Soar!
Mar 17, 2024Rameshwaram harbour
This clever bird passes with flying colours
May 15, 2025Palace of Westminster, London, England
Black-and-white bovines
An ocean of stars above the desert
Stunning symmetry
Jan 23, 2024Maldives
Oct 2, 2025Gandhi Jayanti
The festival of colours
Nov 30, 2024Male white rhinoceroses, Lake Nakuru, Kenya
Mar 4, 2025Charminar, Hyderabad, Telangana
Oct 17, 2025Rock River Falls, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, United States
Oct 19, 2025Apples ready for harvest, Minnesota, United States
Dec 4, 2023Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya