Teeming pandals; many Ganesh avatars

Chants of Ganapathi Bappa Moriya rented the air as the city started celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi on August 29. Idols of Lord Ganesha in different moods, shapes and sizes, were installed at attractive pandals drawing large crowds. As always, idols sported something unique. At Venkata Ramana Colony, Lord Ganesha was seen with Lord Krishna and Radha in the background, another pandal at Satya Nagar had installed an idol where Lord Hanuman bowed down to the Elephant God. At Nimboligadda the Ganesh idol was portrayed as Lord Narasimha.

Eco-friendly idols gained prominence this year as many pandals went the green way. A 30 feet pandal in Vinayak Nagar in Safilguda, made entirely of clay, was a crowd puller. At many homes, people overlooked colourful Ganesha and bought only the clay moulded ones.

Something which has remained constant over decades, which has contributed to the growing number of pandals in the city, is the crowd. For most residents, evenings are reserved for Lord Ganesha and no matter how hectic the schedule is, they are ready and free by this hour to attend evening the aarti in the pandals of their localities. It's time of the year when old and young, kids and middle-aged meet freely, socialise and mingle.