I only have one planned vacation each year – a trip to my native place Murud-Janjira. It is a coastal town in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, about 160km from Mumbai. My grandfather left Murud to attend law school in Mumbai. 3 generations later, there is still one thing that keeps the extended family together and coming back to our native place – our temple.
![Janjira Fort, Murud-Janjira](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6hQ5YeJyzT8/UDMWX55L-RI/AAAAAAAAvM0/JaIIERRYs0c/w814-h543-no/Murud%2B18%2Band%2B19%2BAug%2B12%2B094.jpg)
A couple of centuries back, one Mr.Joshi had a dream about an idol of Lord Ganesha under a tree. They dug it up and indeed found a stone resembling in shape with a Ganesha idol. It was then handed over to our family to be worshiped. What must’ve started as a small shade in Nandgaon (10 kms short of Murud), is today a popular destination for devotees & tourists alike.
![SiddhiVinayak Temple, Nandgaon](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wBfhs-7aCWc/S1rJppcZgrI/AAAAAAAAvOg/FK2Z7kNgQ0E/w640-h480-no/utsav_2010_%2B%2815%29.jpg)
The Ganesh Chathurthi festival in the month of Bhaadrapada was popularized by Lokmanya Tilak as a social event. But Ganesh Jayanti, Ganesha’s birthday if you will, is actually celebrated in the lunar month of Maagh Continue reading How our Maghi Ganesh Utsav binds us together