Grand preparations for 'habba'

Cultural programmes

The festive spirit has engulfed the entire City and different societies and welfare associations are toiling day and night to make their Ganesha Utsav the biggest and the most popular one.

While some want to portray a particular theme in their pandal this year, many others want to get the biggest Ganesha idol available.

The Vidyaranyapura Yuvaka Sangha is celebrating its 51st year of Ganesha Utsav this year and has got sand artists all the way from Orissa to make a special set of idols.
Omprakash Barik, a sand artist from Cuttack, is busy giving shape to the Ganesha, Nandi and Shivalinga out of sand.

“This is the second time I have come to Bangalore. This year, I have brought my brother Brahmaprakash with me for assistance. We also take the help of some of the locals in making these sand idols. This year, I am making an 18-foot-tall Ganesha idol with sand. Along with that, I will also make a six-foot-tall Nandi and an eight-foot-tall Shivalinga. A lot of hard work is involved in sand art and I am hoping that people will appreciate my efforts,” he says.

Most associations are trying to wrap up their preparations early so that visitors can start coming in during the weekend. The organisers of the Ganesha Utsav at Sudham Nagar near Shantinagar Double Road, say that they plan to celebrate the festival on a grand scale. “Our focus is on the lights and the Ganesha idol. We have already started installing the electric lights at the entrance of the pandal. The celebrations start from Monday onwards and our cultural teams are going to perform in the evenings,” says Sharanappa, one of the organisers.

The Rohan Vasantha Apartment Owners’ Association have a grand programme lined up for the festival. The cultural team is trying to involve everyone in the festivities. Rahul Mahashabde, a member of the organising committee of the association, explains that they have been celebrating the festival for the past five years.

“We will bring the idol to the pandal in a huge procession along with a traditional Maharashtrian dance lezin, which will be performed by the dancers. We have formed some cultural groups and many children as well as adults will perform in the cultural functions taking place on these five days. A huge pandal has been erected and we are expecting more than 300 people. Chanting of shlokas, bhajans etc will also be done by the residents in the course of five days,” he informs.

Many others like Poorna Pragna Resident Welfare Association are celebrating the festival a bit later to make it special for their members. Hayagree Vachar, the secretary of the association, says that they will extend the celebrations till September 22. “As everyone in the City will celebrate the festival on Monday, we have planned to celebrate it on September 22. There will be a cultural function in the evening and the puja will be done in the morning,” he
informs.

The Ganesha Utsav at the Ganapathi Seva Samithi in KHB Colony, 5th Block Koramangala is also quite popular among the residents and the special panchamritha abhisheka decoration, puja, mangalarthi, distribution of theertha prasada will commence from seven in the morning on Monday.

   Later in the day, they will have the installation of Swarna Gowri and Varasiddhi Vinayaka idols. The much-awaited cultural programme will be held in the evening.