Mumbai, Sep 20 : In many areas of Mumbai, Muslims joined Hindus in celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi, the festival that marks the birthday of Lord Ganesha.

Dozens of Muslims prayed together with Hindus at many temples in the city, offering flowers and performing religious rituals.

The men belonging to the two communities have been visiting mosques and the temples to pray.

Salim Khan, a Muslim devotee said they are all one regardless of religion or caste.

"We celebrate it by taking out a grand procession. There is no such feeling of differences in their (Hindus) hearts. We, Hindus and Muslims together, celebrate this festival," added Salim.

On the culmination of the ten-day-long festival, the Ganesha idols would be taken in grand procession immersing then in water bodies.

This practice of communal harmony has been followed for years, say the locals.

Dilip Mahadev Sawant, a Hindu devotee said despite it being the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, this has not stopped the tradition from being carried on.

"Everybody is observing fast but they all still come here for aarti (a religious ritual). This has been a tradition with us for 20 years now," Sawant said.

Ganesh Chaturthi used to be a personal or private affair, celebrated at homes. But at the turn of the century, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from British rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda.

The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath.

Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode.

When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head.

Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best loved of Indian gods. (With inputs from ANI)