FROM OLYMPIANS TO HARRY POTTER, ALL FIND PLACE IN PANDALS ACROSS TWIN CITIES
Bhubaneswar, Sept. 4: The twin-cities are all set to celebrate Ganesh Puja tomorrow with various puja committees going a step ahead to create pandals and idols modelled on innovative themes.
More than 500 Ganesh Pujas will be held across the twin cities tomorrow. A 35ft long and 22ft high reclining Ganesha will be a major attraction in Bhubaneswar.
Fifteen artists from Mumbai, Bengal and Odisha worked over days to create the Ganesh idol, which is a replica of the one at Nakhon Nayok in Thailand.
Jitendra Rao, the president of Winners' Association - a club based near IMFA Park, said: "The idol will also hold a laddoo weighing 22kg and there will be a four-feet-long mouse. The entire structure cost us around Rs 1.5 lakh."
Ushaloka Puja Committee of Master Canteen Square has been celebrating Ganesh Puja since 1969. This year, they have focused on an eco-friendly festival. A number of pandals have been themed on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the six Olympians from Odisha. There are several other pandals that uses Odisha's very own horn and lacquer art forms.
A few students of Bipin Bihari Choudhry High School for the Deaf have made a six-feet-tall Ganesh under the supervision of sculptor Nasim Azam.
"Religion is an individual's personal belief. For me, religion is art," said Nasim.
The Puja committees will also host a number of activities, such as cultural evenings, bhajan samaroh and various other competitions. Fairs are also being held at various places across the city.
It was boon time for a number of idol makers across the state. Over the last two weeks, a number of customised idols were in demand among the buyers, many of whom are college students and IT professionals.
Ganesh idols wearing turban, holding musical instruments and modelled on the Lalbaugcha Raja of Mumbai were hot picks.
Popular idol forms such as Nataraj and Surya Singhasan were also being sold.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urge to go for clay idols through his Mann Ki Baat programme last Sunday has struck a chord with Puja organisers here. An idol seller said most Puja committees preferred clay idols over plaster of Paris figurines.
"Clay idols are costlier. Plaster of Paris idols are not only cheaper but are also lightweight. But over the past week, a number of buyers have been asking us for clay idols. I have sold around 35 clay idols this year. The number is quiet higher than those of the previous years," said Prakash Maharana, an idol seller at Unit-I Market.
Subrat Behera, president of a club at Nayapalli, said: "We have launched an awareness drive in our neighbourhood and told people about the benefits of clay idols. We also collected extra money and bought a clay idol for ourselves."
Police have beefed up security in both the cities. The enthusiasm for the festival is equally high in other parts of the state, such as Puri, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Paradip.
