Coimbatore/Tamil Nadu/Mumbai/Pune, Sept 3 : Devotees thronged a temple in Coimbatore, to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of ''Ganesh Chaturthi'', the ten-day long annual festival, which began on Wednesday.

The festival, which marks the birth anniversary of lord Ganesha, is celebrated with great fanfare across the country.

Hundreds of devotees thronged the temple in Coimbatore today, to offer prayers on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi, in front of the idol, which is claimed by the temple priests to be the biggest in Asia.

“Our Ganesha idol is the biggest in Asia. From early morning, we had started preparations for the special puja rituals. We had used four tonnes of flowers; we also anointed the statue with sandalwood paste. This statue has attracted thousands of people to the temple,” said Karthikeyan, temple priest.

Scores of idols of lord Ganesha were put up across Chennai, where festivities kicked off with devotees flocking puja pandals or makeshift tents to offer prayers to the God.

An eco friendly idol of lord Ganesha, made from grass, fruits and vegetables attracted devotees with its colourful splendor.

For past some years, there has been emphasis on eco friendly idols to lessen water pollution as the idols usually made of plaster-of-Paris, degrade water quality.

The famous Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, witnessed serpentine queues of devotees as people came in large numbers to offer prayers to the deity.

Yesteryear, Bollywood actor Jeetendra also visited the Siddhivinayak temple to offer prayers on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

“I have come here to offer prayers at the temple on the occasion,” said Jeetendra.

In Pune, a huge procession marked the festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi.

A procession was taken out in the city with a huge idol of lord Ganesha, decorated with gold, to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments.

Hindu devotees celebrate the festival every year by making makeshift temples at their homes.

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati, consort of Shiva had created Ganesha from a perfumed putty-like substance, and made him to stand outside her abode not to allow anybody in, while she had a bath.

Shiva flew into rage on not being allowed in by the boy and beheaded him.

Soon realizing his mistake, Shiva brought Ganesha back to life by putting an elephant head on his shoulders.

Thus was created Ganesha, the lord of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is worshipped by Hindus at the beginning of every auspicious occasion. (ANI)