Ganesha arrives for 10-day sojourn in city

LUCKNOW: Amid beats of dhol and chants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’, people welcomed Lord Ganesha at different city pandals to mark the 10-day Ganesh Utsav.
While some are celebrating the festival from Monday others will do it from Tuesday. Celebrated as the birthday of the God of wisdom and intellect, the festival will continue till September 28 - Anant Chaturdashi.
Dressed in traditional attire, people sang and danced as they installed Ganesha idols at different pandals as well as in houses.
For the last three years ‘Aminabad ka Raja’ (king of Aminabad) was installed in a Shiva temple on Sriram Marg but this year idol was brought back to its original place-- near Aminabad police chowki.
Daisy Sonkar (45) brought her one-year-old granddaughter Jasvini to pray at the pandal.
“Even when the pandal could not be organised in a grand way due to the pandemic I used to visit the spot to worship Lord Ganesha. This year, I told my grandchild about the story of Ganesha. She was very amused at the lights and floral decorations in the pandal,” said Sonkar.
The pandal at Oscar Sai Yoga Kendra near LaTouche Road also got its grandeur back after three years. Apart from the 5ft idol, another attraction is an idol crafted with soil of a banyan sapling.
This sapling along with four others – Neem, Peepal, Bel and Ashok -- will be planted in Jhulelal vatika after idol immersion.
At the pandal devotees were informed about the need for conservation of nature. A devotee Rita Kashyap (57) said: “I liked the way the pandal was decorated with flowers and plants. It is important that people understand the need to support nature.”
At Maharashtra Bhawan, newlywed couple Vishesh and Ratan installed the Ganesha idol while a metal idol was installed in Chaupatiya in Chowk.