Pakistan's Marathi community celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi in Karachi

A Marathi-speaking community in Karachi has continued its long-standing Ganesh Chaturthi tradition, bringing prayers, cultural rituals and a traditional procession to parts of the Pakistani city.

Nearly 700 Marathi-speaking Pakistani nationals took part in this year’s Ganeshotsav celebrations, maintaining customs passed down through generations.

The celebrations began with the installation of Ganesh idols, followed by prayers and community gatherings. On the first day of the festival, devotees took part in a procession covering about five kilometres from Karachi’s Punjab Colony to Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple, with chants of “Ganapati Bappa Morya” accompanying the procession.

The younger generation has also played a role in keeping the tradition alive. Members of the Naik family, whose roots are in Maharashtra’s Konkan region, made a five-foot-tall Ganesh idol for the first time this year.

The community’s connection to the festival reflects a longer history. Families of Marathi origin have remained in Pakistan across generations and continued to observe festivals and cultural traditions associated with their heritage.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Ganesha, marked by prayers, cultural programmes, music, and community gatherings.

A separate viral video from Karachi has also drawn attention to the festival. It showed a Muslim artist painting a Ganesh idol for a Marathi family at Ganesh Math Mandir, a temple run by a Maharashtrian family. The video was shared by Karachi-based content creator Amar Parkash.

A recent video by Brut India also documented a Marathi family in Karachi celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, highlighting how the festival has continued across generations.