Kolkata: With just two days left for the much-awaited Ganesh Puja, it’s rush-hour for artisans across the city as they give final touches to the idols.
Those who have completed the idols are getting ready to ship it to various clubs and pandals. The trend of organising Ganesh Pujas has been on the rise in Kolkata for a few years and of late, theme-based celebrations are becoming a big draw. One of the most sought-after themes this year is Chandrayaan-3, India’s successful mission to the moon.
A model of the Chandrayaan rocket has been placed atop the pandal in Salt Lake’s BB Block puja organised by Sree Sree Ganesh Chaturthi Mahotsav. Inside the pandal, a Ganesh idol adorns a stage in front of a huge photograph of the moon’s surface with the earth seen at a distance.
Pictures of lander Vikram and rover Pragyan have also used to decorate the background to give pandal hoppers a feeling that Lord Ganesh is sitting on a throne on the surface of the moon, committee president Anindya Chatterjee said. The committee has been organising Ganesh festival for the last 14 years and is known to be the oldest in the satellite township.
A puja committee near VIP Road in Baguiati has also chosen to showcase ISRO’s feat through their Ganesh puja pandal.
At the Executive Palace complex in the city’s north-eastern fringes, a five-foot tall idol with images of the lunar surface and Indian flags planted on the moon’s surface will greet the devotees.
A model of the rocket and a model of lander Vikram will be placed on one side of the idol, said Ankit Agarwal, an organiser of the puja.
Images of different stars and planets as seen at night will be on display also. Blue LED lamps with multimedia images of the moon will light up the pandal, he said.
The organisers of Parnasree Pally Ganesh Puja in south Kolkata have opted for a traditional pandal and idol, Joydip Raha, a member of the committee, said.
Abhishek Das, a member of Muraripukur Ganesh Puja Committee in North Kolkata, said they are celebrating the puja in a big way but there is no specific theme.
Another Puja committee in Baishakhi area of Salt Lake has built a replica of the famous Karni Mata Mandir in Rajasthan’s Bikaner that has thousands of rats.