Home chefs gear up for Ganesha habba

With Ganesh Chaturthi less than a week away, home entrepreneurs in Bengaluru are busy with orders for festive foods, mainly modaks. These sweet dumplings, steamed or fried, are regarded as Ganesha’s favourite. Most requests are for August 27, the main day when idols are installed in homes and apartments, while office and party orders follow later.

Nidhi Mehta of Nidhii’s Kitchen is offering traditional steamed ‘ukadiche’ modak, along with fried modak and gujiya, at Rs 30 each. For steamed modaks, she sources a special rice flour ground in Pune, and cooks them in turmeric leaves. The Akshay Nagar resident is also making gujiyas filled with suji, mava, and dry fruits, available in sugar and sugar-free versions. Call 80881 30591.

Savitha Chandrashekar of Iyer Homemade Products has dropped steamed modak from the menu due to its shorter shelf life. Instead, she is selling fried modak with organic jaggery at Rs 9 each. Her menu also includes holige (bele or coconut filling), chakli, nippattu, rave unde, besan ladoo, karjikai, and black sesame ladoo. Orders close August 23 evening. Call 99016 51553.

Similarly, Sridevi Vishwanath of Mansvi Edibles has opted for modaks fried in cold-pressed oil and priced at
Rs 20 each. Her festive menu includes karjikai, chakli, and thengol, all prepared with organic ingredients. Holige is available for delivery only within 10 km of her Girinagar home. Orders close August 23 evening. Call 99720 36662.

Jayashree Dhamne of Jaya’s Home Kitchen, R T Nagar, is offering only steamed modaks. She makes them with 11 ingredients (including poppy seeds, sesame, raisins, nutmeg), featuring 11 folds on the design. She sells them as a set of 11 (minimum) — considered an auspicious number. Orders are open until August 24. Contact @jayas.homekitchen on Instagram.

Turn idols into plants

Entrepreneur Uma Rajeswari is selling a special kit to encourage home immersion of idols. Each kit, costing
Rs 600, includes a 9-inch clay Ganesha idol, potting soil, a grow bag, and a herbal sapling (such as lavang tulsi, ‘insulin’ plant, or doddapatre). Alternatively, a kit featuring a 4.5-inch Gowri idol is available at Rs 675. “The clay left after immersion in buckets can be mixed with the soil to plant the sapling,” she says. Orders are open until August 23. Call 85533 10950.

DIY clay Ganesha workshops

Let’s Be The Change, a non-profit, is conducting free clay Ganesha-making workshops on August 24 and 25 at its Banashankari premises. Clay will be provided. Participants should bring a steel tumbler and basic crafting
tools, and a plate to carry the idol home. At 5 pm. Call 93532 18818.

Other venues are hosting paid workshops, starting at Rs 250. Many are open to participants 6 years and older, with group sizes generally capped at 25. Most will demonstrate the traditional sitting pose Ganesha.

By HSR Citizen Forum on August 24, 9 am, at Sri Varasiddi Vinayaka Temple, HSR Layout. Call 98445
09314.

By Tulasi Waldorf Kindergarten on August 23, 10 am, at their campus in Kengeri. WhatsApp [phone].

By Eco Cottage on August 24, 10 am, at their premises in Kalyan Nagar. Call 99451 71115.

At Vruksha School of Fine Arts, R R Nagar, on August 24. Two batches are planned at 11 am, and 2 pm.
Participants can request custom designs from facilitators. Call 63610 28096.

Green Utsav is bringing artisans from Pottery Town to lead a workshop at Prachitee Experiential School, Whitefield, on August 25, 4 pm. WhatsApp [phone].

BENGALURU GANESH UTSAVA RETURNS AT TWO VENUES THIS YEAR

The 2025 edition of Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava will be held across two venues after a four-year break. The 11-day celebration, starting on August 27, will take place at APS College Grounds and National College Grounds, both in Basavanagudi. Devotees will have access to darshan 24x7, with the ‘mantap’ lit up through the night by diyas. Like last year, the festival, now in its 63rd edition, will be held in a hybrid format. According to Nandish S M, managing trustee of the Utsava, the 2024 edition drew about 45 lakh participants. They are expecting over 60 lakh visitors this year. The APS College Grounds will host the deity and devotional concerts,
while cultural programmes will be staged at the National College Grounds. The music line-up includes
performances by M D Pallavi, Vijay Prakash, Raghu Dixit, Rajesh Krishnan, Vijay Yesudas, Lakshmi and Indu Nagaraj, Soorya Gayathri, Sunitha Upadrishta, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, and child prodigy Ganga Sasidharan.

Other musical performances include ‘Kashi Damaru’ by Pandit Jagadeesh D Kurthikoti and troupe, and ‘Bhakti Janapada Sangeetha’ by Savithakka Halli Band. Actor Ravichandran will talk about his film journey.

Among the highlights is a mass chanting event on August 31. Around 25,000 people are expected to chant
the Ganesha Pancharatna shlokas as they walk from APS College to Gandhi Bazaar circle via DVG Road. The
‘Ganapati visarjane’ procession is on September 6.

Entry free. For details, check @bengaluruganeshutsava on Instagram, or call 93420 22070/95904 43016.