Devotees at the Posta Ganesh Mandir on Wednesday. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Little Sneha is all decked up and can’t wait to go pandal-hopping with her mother. No, Goddess Durga hasn’t decided to make an early entry this year, there is a new puja on the block — Ganesh Chaturthi.

The elephant god’s popularity has travelled all the way to Calcutta from Maharashtra, where it is the biggest festival of the year.

In Burrabazar alone, 10 mandaps are celebrating the festival this year, each with a budget of Rs 10-15 lakh. On Wednesday, the first day of the 10-day puja, devotees visited the pandals in hordes.

The deity at the Posta Ganesh Mandir is popular, especially among kids. “I think Ganeshji is the cutest god,’ said eight-year-old Himangshu Narayan, waiting to enter the temple.

“More than five lakh devotees visit the temple to see mota Ganesh on this day. We have to make elaborate arrangements to manage the turnout. This year we are expecting over seven lakh people,” said Sachin Tripathi, the founder-secretary of the Burrabazar Jai Matadi Seva Samiti and Welfare Society that manages the temple.

At the mandap of Siddhivinayak Bhakt Mandal in Nimbutalla Chowk, the prasad is an added attraction.

“Ganeshji is fond of modak (laddoos made of gur and moong dal). The bhog consists of 1,008 laddoos, which is then distributed among devotees,” said Janardhan Agarwal, the organiser.

At the Ashthavinayak Mandir in Posta, devotees are being treated to non-stop folk and religious songs.

Many families in Calcutta have been observing Ganesh Chauth at home, but in the last few years the celebrations have spilled on the streets.

Over 200 Ganesh idols have rolled out of Kumartuli this year. “Around 75 of them were over five feet tall. This means they will be placed in pandals or housing estates,” said artisan Raju Naskar.