Touted as the largest Ganesh idol in the State, the Ganesh idol at Khairatabad is usually everyone’s favourite and a must-visit during the 11-day festival. Organised by the Ganesh Utsav Committee, in their 57th year they have put up a 52 feet tall idol. Rajkumar, the organiser, says, “This time the cost has been Rs 30 lakhs and donations were quite generous, which went upto as high as Rs 50,000.” He further adds, “We also got some donation in kind --- 20,000 kgs of laddoo that can be placed on the palm of the idol.”The artist who is the brain behind this year’s Ganesh idol is Rajendra, informs the organiser. “It was his basic idea. The concept of the idol this year is Ganesh, who is riding on the Garuda Vahanam (vehicle), spreading the message of world peace” adds Rajkumar. This idea had come to Rajendra in his sleep. A total of 100 artists have worked on the idol for two and a half months. The year, the governor has been invited to conduct the Prathisthapana pooja.So, for people who cannot go all the way to Khairatabad, their pooja requests can be booked online. For those keen on knowing more about Khairatabad Ganesha, www.ganapathideva.com is where you got to go. Another wonderful page on the website is the photo gallery of the Khairatabad Ganesh idols of yesteryear from 1954 to 2008.
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