Ganesh Chaturthi 2025 will be celebrated with devotion across India, but the southern states bring their own unique flavor to the festival. From special offerings like kozhukattai in Tamil Nadu to cultural processions in Karnataka and Telangana.
Yet another festival deifying Lord Ganesha, falling on August 27, 2025. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated everywhere across India with frenzied devotion and joy. Maharashtra is typically branded as India’s ganesh hub, but South India has rich traditions and individual practices that make the celebration uniquely distinct. Here is how Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in the southern states-from elaborate rituals to exclusive offerings.
Unique Traditions and Practices Of Ganesh Chaturthi in South India:
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Clay Idols and Community Spirit
There is the installation of lord ganesha clay idols with intricate sculptures both in houses and community pandals for celebrating ganesh chaturthi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. To safeguard water bodies, the use of environment-friendly idols is particularly advocated. Daily pujas are performed by devotees with flowers, fruits, and modaks, or kudumulu (rice flour dumplings). On the final days, idols are immersed in lakes and rivers with chanting of “ganapati bappa morya”. The grand visarjan processions take place in Hyderabad, especially at Tank Bund and Hussain Sagar Lake.
Tamil Nadu: Pillayar Chaturthi with Kozhukattai
“Ganesh Chaturthi” in Tamil Nadu is known as “Pillayar Chaturthi”. Homes are traditionally adorned with banana stems, mango leaves, and kolams (designs made with rice flour). One of the special highlights is the offering of the kozhukattai, a steamed sweet dumpling similar to that of the modak, packed with coconut and jaggery. Also, devotees chant the Vinayaka Chaturthi Katha and conduct elaborate rituals seeking Lord Ganesha’s blessings for wisdom and prosperity. all temples across Chennai and Madurai will see huge crowds of devotees.
Karnataka: Folk Dances and Traditional Feasts
In Karnataka, the festival is both religious as well as cultural. Apart from the Ganesh Puja done in homes and temples, communities come together to participate in folk theater by hosting Yakshagana as well as traditional music performances. Special dishes prepared for the occasion include kayi holige (coconut sweet flatbread) and modakas. In cities like Bengaluru and Mysuru, gigantic Ganesha idols are established, and the immersion processions go with music, dance, and cultural programs.
Kerala: Simple but Devout Observation
In Kerala, Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in simplicity but with deepest devotion. It is worshipped in pujas performed in temples and homes by offerings of appam (sweet rice pancakes), payasam, and modaks. Dwellers throng temples like the Vinayaka Temple in Thrissur and Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Unlike with other states, the festival here is less about grandeur and more about spiritual worship.
Common Practices in South India
What are some of the unifying customs across South India that would center this celebration?
Eco-friendly idols are all made of clay.
Local delicacies like kudumulu, kozhukattai, and holige are offered.
Cultural programs in community gatherings like dance, music, and storytelling.
Traditionally vibrant, yet rooted, in custom are the visargan processions.
Ganesh Chaturthi 2025 will again be a festival of prayer, celebration, and cultural expression in South India among families and communities. Those extravagant celebrations in Hyderabad are equally matched by hydee ritualistic calm in Kerala. Each state has a uniquely individual take on honoring Lord Ganesha. These traditions are living faiths as well as preserving the multiple of cultural heritage for the region.