On the first day, families come together to clean and decorate their homes and the community spaces. Homes are decorated with flowers, rangoli (intricate patterns made with coloured powders), and oil lamps.
Koli women play a central role in all the rituals and celebrations. Dressed in traditional attire and jewellery, the women of the household purify the home, perform the puja (prayers of devotional homage) rituals, and prepare the offerings with sincerity and devotion.
In coastal Maharashtra, Jyeshtha Gauri is typically worshipped as a metal facemask attached to an anthropomorphic body adorned with traditional Koli attire and jewellery. A Nauvari saree, a type of saree worn by Koli women, is offered to the Goddess and changed every year.
Sixteen special food items are prepared and offered to the Goddess as naivedya (sacred food offerings). These include sweet items like modak (Lord Ganesha’s favourite sweet) and kheer (sweet pudding). It is believed that the deity partakes in the essence of the food, which is then distributed to the devotees as prasad (blessed food).
A devotee in a state of trance during aarti (the ritual of waving the sacred fire in front of the deity). The aarti ceremony is a communal activity, often involving the entire neighbourhood, and performed by elder members of the family.
Goddess Gauri is associated with fertility, and the theme of abundance is recreated inside the house, with fruits and floral hangings tied with mango leaves, a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Music forms an integral part of the rituals, from the arrival of the Goddess until the time of visarjan (immersion), when the idol is taken out to the sea.
Gauri Puja typically lasts for three days during the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The first day marks the arrival and installation of the idol; the second day involves the main puja (prayers of devotional homage) and festivities; and the third day is for the visarjan (immersion) of the idol at sea.
Various offerings made by the family and by villagers are assembled in front of the Goddess. Some of these items, like bananas, rice grains, and coconuts, are offered for a bountiful harvest, while others, such as boxes of sweets, are given as tokens of thanksgiving for the fulfilment of a wish. Some of the offerings may be used to prepare the naivedya (sacred food offerings), which is distributed as prasad (blessed food) after the puja (prayers of devotional homage) ceremony is concluded.
Unlike Ganesh Chaturthi, which is publicly celebrated all over Mumbai on a grand scale, Gauri Puja is a modest household event, performed by families inside their homes. In coastal Maharashtra, Gauri is worshipped as a singular Goddess known as Jyeshtha Gauri (jyestha meaning the elder one or the senior). The Goddess is installed on a high platform.