The most celebrated festive season of India has begun, as the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is approaching on August 22. The celebration of Lord Ganesha arises with a lot of hype. People dance and sing as they bring the idol of Lord Ganesha. But people are not able to enjoy this time like they did last year. COVID 19 has caused a lockdown and many social distancing rules. Still, some low-key and creative preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi are in full swing across the nation with people enjoying the festive vibes with a lot of excitement.
The entire country is recharged with religious energy on this sacred and delighted occasion. And numerous people are being creative even in this situation and taking inspiration from the surroundings. Hence, a visionary sculptor from Surat in Gujarat has made a Ganesha idol that displays the Lord Ganesha crumbling a coronavirus with his feet. The maker titled it as, ‘coronavirus killer Ganesha’ to convey a noble message and he hopes to create awareness about coronavirus and the significance of social distancing and hygiene to win against the lethal virus. The innovative Ganesha idol displays a coronavirus beneath Lord Ganesha's feet. Moreover, there's a Mooshak (Mice - Ganesha's vehicle) holding the virus from the ground.
Due to the emerging outbreaks of COVID 19 in India, several state governments have published guidelines for Ganesh Chaturthi this year. And like Surat, all other states are fulfilling the ideas of COVID 19 inspired Ganesha idols. Nidhi Sharma from Madhya Pradesh's Indore has made a Lord Ganesha idol using chocolate on the theme of coronavirus and is intending to submerge it in milk. Through her idols, she is aiming to pay tribute to COVID-19 warriors, mainly doctors and police.
Moreover, a Mysuru-based artist D. Revanna, who is famous for distinct creative Ganesha statues based on recent events during Ganesh Chaturthi every year, has come up with a unique Ganesha idol portraying ‘Corona-Mardhaka Ganesha’ idol this year. Similar ideas are being used by Ganesh idol creators of Varanasi, Lucknow and all other states.
This year in India, all the Ganesh Mandals (committees) in Maharashtra and several other states are not encouraging any huge celebrations due to the epidemic. Ganesha idols have also been reduced in size. Mumbai's famous Lalbaughcha Raja, which attracts pilgrims from the whole nation, will stand only 4-feet tall this year.
Likewise, Hyderabad's Khairatabad Ganesha idol will be only 9-feet in height. Several Ganpati mandals will moreover give darshan on Facebook, Zoom, and Google programs during the festival which has been cut short from 10 to 4 days at most states due to the pandemic. While most Ganesha idol creators have been bothered about the losses in trades because of the restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these concept-based idols like ones portraying Lord Ganesha as a destroyer of Coronavirus have been performing the task by earning them reasonable prices. And several devotees have incredibly ordered idols in which Lord Ganesha is portrayed as the assassin of the novel coronavirus.
(Source - ANI / Hindustan Times)