It’s that time of the year again when the air fills with devotion and the streets echo with chants of “Ganapati Bappa Morya!” A festival we wait for all year long, Ganesh Chaturthi is about reliving childhood memories of bustling pandals, fresh modaks from the kitchen, and the joy of bringing home a clay idol with music and laughter.
While growing up, our house was
located near one of the biggest Ganesh pandals in Hyderabad. The lane beside
our house often became a landmark, popularly called Bada Ganesh. Bada Ganesh. A
towering 40-foot idol of Lord Ganesh mesmerized us each year. We eagerly
awaited the theme reveal of that pandal, which always became a hot topic of
discussion among friends and neighbors. From space to Y2K, from movie themes to
the Ramayana, we witnessed them all.