Ganesh Chaturthi set to enliven city's atmosphere

CHANDIGARH: Amidst off-beat idols coloured in gleaming pink, yellow and blue, lavish settings and elaborate preparation for pujas, the city is all set to dazzle, with the eight-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations starting on Sunday to brighten up the spirit of the city.
Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Samiti, an association of people of Marathi origin in the city, has brought an idol of Ganesha made up of paper mache specially from Mumbai.���Paper mache will easily get dissolved in water when the idol is immersed,��� said Vidhya Kureka Palta, secretary of the samiti���s mahila mandal.
The samiti has also made arrangements for an elaborate celebration, with items like bhajan sandhya, folk dances and music in the offing. ���Hectic lifestyles leave people with hardly any time for themselves. Therefore, we have made special plans on this occasion to take time out of our busy schedules, relive our culture and tradition and also teach the younger generation the very essence of it,��� Vidhya said.
However, the traditional way of making idols is also in demand. In Kali Bari, hundreds of idols of all shapes and sizes are being sold everyday while the dealer is expecting doubling of business at the eleventh hour. So far, most consignments have been sent to places like Leh-Ladakh, Sunder Nagar and Kargil. However, locals prefer buying the idols a day in advance on the morning of the festival, said Khokan Adhikari, an idols dealer who has been in this business for the last 16 years. With 14 artistes busy giving final touches to Lord Ganesha���s idols, the dealer agrees that the period surrounding the festival makes for a peak phase in his business.