Pop culture inspirations to tributes to Puneeth Rajkumar make up the themes for Ganesha idols this year

While reality inspires cinema, sometimes people do enjoy taking bits from the cinema and adding a little bit of drama to life. The many avatars of Ganesha, over the years, is a testament to that.
Mixing popculture with Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular trends. Ganesha festival is always connected to issues making headlines. Popularised by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1893, the ‘social festival’ still manages to include societal issues even after over 100 years.
With Ganesh Chaturthi right around the corner, we take a look at some of the popular Ganesha over the years.
When Dr Rajkumar was kidnapped in 2000s, there were many idols of Dr Rajkumar, in the guise of Ganesha, killing Veerappan. It also made a brief comeback when Veerappan was killed by security forces in 2004. Post Kargil War, there were Ganesha idols with soldiers in the backdrop flashing victory signs. Anna Hazare Ganesha, a depiction of social activist Anna Hazare, was extremely popular in 2011 when Hazare went on hunger strike demanding implementation of Lok Pal Bill. The most popular of it all, in the recent times, has to be Bahubali Ganesha, where Ganesha, like Prabhas, is seen lifting Shivalinga. A few years ago Ramesh Arvind’s 100th film, Pushpaka-Vimana-themed ‘saluting Ganesha’ was also made. With innovation being the survival mantra, in the last 2 years, Corona Ganesha - idol of Ganesha destroying Corona - was ruling the market.

The latest to join the bandwagon is an idol of Ganesha hugging late actor Dr Puneeth Rajkumar. It’s been almost a year since Puneeth left us, but his popularity still seems to be soaring.
Some of the other popular Ganesha avatars include: Spider Man Ganesha, Gabbar Singh Ganesha, Eega Ganesha, Rudramadevi Ganesha, selfie Ganesha, Srimanthudu Ganesha, Bajirao Ganesha, Robot Ganesha, cricketer Ganesha, among others.
Associated with entrepreneurial spirit and harbinger of good luck, Lord Ganesha’s uniqueness lies in the fact that he is popular and equally revered among all communities.
Word of caution: This festive season, make sure you buy Eco-friendly or clay Ganesha, because it’s not just Ganesha, even Mother Earth will be watching your actions.