7,200-kg laddu draws crowds

Rajahmundry: A replica of the Kanipakam Varasiddhi Vinayaka idol, installed on the banks of the Godavari by Rajamahendri Ganesh Utsav Committee (RGUC), was the main attraction here. A laddu weighing nearly 7,200 kg was also installed in front of the idol. People were thronging the Pushkar Ghat area where the main pandal was set up and there were serpentine queues of devotees to have a glimpse of the idol and the laddu.

With Samaikyandhra Ganapati in the backdrop of the main idol, there were emblems of Parvati-Parameswara, Telugu Talli, Amarajeevi Potti Sriramulu, Samaikyandhra map and other features on the ‘Guinness Laddu’. These emblems were designed by popular miniature artist Dontamsetti Bala Nageswara Rao of Mandapeta. He took only 48 hours to design the emblems after the preparation of the ‘Guinness Laddu’.

It may be recalled here that the ‘Guinness Laddu’ was prepared by Saladi Venakateswara Rao, popularly known as Srinubabu, of Bhaktanjaneya Sweets, Tapeswaram, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records twice consecutively (from 2011) for making largest laddu, in the world. He would be creating another record this year also.

Popular sculptor from Kothapeta area, Devaguptapu Rajakumar Vadayar, has designed the main idol in the form of Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swami, a replica of the presiding deity at Kanipakam.

He also sculptured about 48 Ganapati idols as ‘Dasavatara Ganapatis’ and in other postures like ‘Vidya’, ‘Nritya’, ‘Tandava’ and ‘Writer Ganapati’. ‘Vridhi-Siddhi’ showroom has installed a 10-ft Ganesh idol with dried grapes, which was attracting a huge crowd. In the same area, the organisers organized a pandal with dry-fruit Vinakaya.