Gearing up for Ganesha

Gearing up for Ganesha
Deccan Herald Spectrum

Unconventional Ganeshas in every nook and corner, bright lights and lots of colour, and a surging mass of humanity lapping it all up — Ganesh Chaturthi in Hubli is a sight to watch indeed, writes Shyam Sundar Vattam.

It could be the Maharashtrian influence or simply the tradition here, but watching Hubli gear up for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations is a treat. Perhaps, no other city in north Karnataka grabs people’s attention the way Hubli does during this festival. Thousands of people from every walk of life from neighbouring districts make it a point to visit the city and have darshan of a variety of Ganapati idols.

This year the celebrations seem to be more colourful thanks to bountiful rains after three successive years of drought. The idols that are prepared here are different when compared with those in south Karnataka and this is due to the influence of Maharashtra. Idols of different shapes, sizes and colours adorn the streets of the city. The organisers select a different theme every year and place orders accordingly. There have been Ganapati idols protecting the World Trade Centre of the United States of America, Lord Ganesha holding sten guns protecting Kargil, the Lord killing notorious forest bandit Veerappan and rescuing Dr Rajkumar and also blessing former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Ms Uma Bharati who was portrayed holding the national tri-colour. This year the theme is kept a secret and it will be made known only on the day of the festival.

The uniqueness of the Hubli Ganesha festival has been that it is celebrated on a grand scale, starting from day one till the day of immersion. The pandal, decoration, illumination and variety of idols are a sight indeed! The whole of Hubli comes alive during the festival. Serpentine queues in front of pandals are a common feature. For the past two years police have banned the collection of Rs 1 or Rs 2 as entry fee by the organisers as ‘darshan fees’. Many times people finish their dinner and then visit every Ganapathi idol installed in the city and seek blessings from the Lord. Business also booms during the festival with thousands of people visiting the city during the celebrations.


Old timers recall that about 2-3 decades ago people of this region went to Miraj, Pune or Mumbai to witness the Ganesh celebrations and watch cultural programmes organised in this connection. Now the situation has reversed with people from those regions coming to North Karnataka to take part in the celebrations here. While some organisers place orders for the supply of idols with local makers, a few go to Belgaum and other places. For them money is not a problem. All that matters to them is that their idol is as different as can be from the other’s. They spend not less than Rs 20,000 or Rs 30,000 on the idols, lighting and pandal.

The situation was entirely different about three to four decades ago when only about 8-10 organisers used to install idols in their respective localities. This had resulted in fisticuffs among the organisers on the issue of installation and immersion of the idols. However, in 1976, Mr S S Kamadolli Shettar, a prominent resident of Hubli came out with the novel idea of floating the Hubli Sarvajanika Sri Ganeshotsava Samitigala Mahamandala to bring all Ganapati mandalas under a common umbrella. Indeed this idea was the first of its kind in the country. Initially there was lukewarm response to his idea but it became popular in subsequent years. Now more than 250 organisers have registered with the mahamandal and everything has been going on smoothly without any hitch. Every year the mahamandal conducts competitions such as the best Ganapati idol, decoration and illumination among its member organisers and gives away prizes. A team comprising 20-30 members from a cross section of society visit each and every pandal and announce the awards. The mahamandal has completed its silver jubilee and is doing yeomen service to the general public. The mahamandal will decide the dates for immersion of the idols on the ninth and eleventh day as per the Hindu calender so as to avoid rush.

In the late 80s both the Ganapati festival and the Moharrum festival fell on the same day and at that time the mahamandal exhibited communal harmony by holding both the festivals on one forum.

This has further strengthened the bond between the Hindus and Muslims and have brought the two communities together. Another interesting aspect had been that so far, there has been no communal clash in Hubli especially during Ganapati celebrations and for this the credit goes to the Mahamandala.

The mahamandal charges a nominal fee from every mandala as registration fee and the collected sum is used to help the poor and the needy. A few years ago, a girl was injured in the eye in a cracker burst while she was having darshan of Ganapati in Hubli. The mahamandal members decided to bear the medical expenses of that girl. Besides, it had also extended financial help to a boy to undergo heart surgery. The oldest ganapati is on Station Road and it has completed a century. The popular slogan, “Ganapati bappa moreya, pursha varshi loukar ya” has brought the people of all caste, colour and religion together.