It is a tower of Babel as workers from across the country race against time to finish the tallest Ganesh idol in the city at Khairatabad. Instructions, commands and cuss words fly thick and fast in Tamil, Rajasthani, Bengali, Malayalam and Telugu as specialised workers team up to execute various tasks.
“Every year, we begin work on Sarva Ekadasi (May 21 this year), which is three months before Vinayaka Chaturthi (August 25). The chief artist, C. Rajendran, who has been responsible for the appearance of Ganesh idol here for the past 30 years, brings a number of drawings and we choose one of them for the year,” said G. Sandeep Raj, convenor, who has been part of the annual event for the past 40 years.
First installed in 1954 by S. Shankaraiah at the same locality, the Ganesh idol grew in size to reach a mammoth 60 feet in 2015. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) asked the organisers to scale down the idol and the size has been shrinking ever since.
“Next year, we will have a 59-feet idol as many people want the idol to be grand. We have been carrying on this event with collections from Hundi. And if people want a taller Ganesh, we cannot ignore their wish,” said Mr. Raj.
With many firsts to its credit, this year the Ganesh idol will have a plaster of paris (gypsum) laddoo instead of the traditional edible one made of chickpea flour and sugar. “We were getting Tappeswaram laddoo sent by Mallibabu, but this year, we will have a PoP laddoo and devotees can bring their laddoos and keep them near the idol which will be distributed later,” said S. Raj Kumar.