Khairatabad Ganesha to ride eagle this time around

HYDERABAD: The hugely popular Khairatabad Ganesh idol is all set to sport a unique look this time around. With just a week to go for the Ganapati festival, final touches are being given to the 53-feet statue, the tallest in the city.
Organisers here said that the Ganesha idol would be more “imaginative” with the idol placed over an eagle that is sitting on a globe rather than the mythological `savari’, the mouse.
“This idol is the symbol of peace in the world. Eagle is a bird that symbolizes power and through this idol we want to spread the message that nothing is more important than peace and harmony,” said S Sudarshan, chairman and founder of Shri Ganesh Utsav Samiti, Khairatabad.
The ten-day Ganpati festival that starts on September 1, promises to be bigger and better with organizers pulling out all stops to make the festival a grand one. From installing tall Ganesha idols to issuing directives against playing film songs at pandals, organizers say this year’s Ganesha festival would be unique in more ways than one.
For starters, there are 60,000 pandals coming up in the city as against 45,000 pandals last year. Organisers of the city’s biggest Ganpati pandals say settings are lavish, idols off-beat and `puja’ preparations elaborate this year. The budgets have predictably shot up but organizers say they are flush with donations this year.
Keeping with the prevailing mood in the society to fight corruption, many pandals will also have banners supporting the anti-corruption movement in the country. “Artists may even come up with Ganesha idols that depict patriotism and unity, with colours or other symbols,” said Bagwantha Rao, general secretary, Bhagyanagar Ganesha Utsav Samiti.
With the ban on plastic bags, non-woven bags are being introduced in the festival for the distribution of ‘prasadam’.Organizers say they have been spending lavishly on the preparations, with budgets going up as much as Rs 35 lakh. “We get donations from all across the country and from the devotees living overseas. Every time it is about celebrating the festival in a better way,” said Sudarshan adding that the ‘laddu’ that will be placed in the hand of the Khairatabad Ganesha idol will weigh 1,622 kg with an estimated cost of Rs 3.5 lakh. This is being donated by a sweet merchant in Kakinada. Apart from such big budget Ganeshas, the festival will also see Ganesh devotees unite at the stroke of 9 pm everyday with pandals across the city planning to conduct an 'aarti' at this time everyday. “We have introduced this to spread the feeling of unity among people,” Bhagwantha Rao added.
This apart, organisers are also trying to promote 'Desh Bhakti' and 'Daya Bhakti' this Ganapati season by banning pandals from playing Bollywood numbers during the festivities. Organisers have also been instructed to ban ‘DJ culture’ during the festival. “There would be no western music during the festival.
Instead we will organize a number of traditional and cultural programs during the ten-day long festival,” said Agalduty Rahul, organising secretary, Adarsh Lorry Owner’s Association, which is setting up a 21-ft tall Ganesha idol in Secunderabad.
Organisers said that Indian culture and traditions will be explained to youngsters during the festival and that instructions had been issued to preach about our rich culture to the young generation.