Bhubaneswar: Not just clay idols, but materials of various kinds have been used to shape up the elephant-headed God, Ganesh, this year in Odisha. What’s catches the attention most is a 15-foot-tall Ganesh idol crafted from 25,000 glass bangles in Baripada of Mayurbhanj district.
The unique idol has been installed at the puja mandap of a youth organisation, known as the Friends Union Organisation, as it marked its 18th celebration. Following the tradition of Maharashtra, the organisation is celebrating the festival for five days.
#WATCH | #GaneshChaturthi2024 | Mayurbhanj, Odisha | A unique 15-ft idol of lord Ganesh made of 25,000 glass bangles installed in Baripada pic.twitter.com/SVsJMU4PFC
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2024
The organisation spent around Rs 25 lakh for building the idol as well as the pandal, its cashier, Srikant Barik told the ANI. This puja mandap also marks communal harmony as people from muslim community also take part in the celebrations here.
“The festival features tribal traditional songs, dances, a national-level dance competition, and much more. Prasad distribution occurs over the five days. Artists from West Bengal and other states join us,” said Saumya Ranjan Mishra, president of the organisation, as quoted by the ANI.
Tree Ganesha & its natural immersion
At a time when the focus is on green measures to make the festival eco-friendly, a voluntary organisation in Bhubaneswar has come up with ‘Tree Ganesh,’ replacing the clay idols for the celebration. The Tree Ganesh has been installed by the volunteers of Bakul Foundation at Biju Patnaik Park. This Ganesha has a beautiful tree, draped in a yellow dhoti, as its body. The turban and the ears have been made with Kulhas (Bamboo basket for winnowing), and tusks with papier mache. A painted coconut has been depicted as a mouse, which is the God’s Vahana.
“Lord Ganesh with the elephant head and human body has been a powerful symbol for union of all creation, the animal world and the human world. Hence, the volunteers of Bakul Foundation found it but natural to worship a tree as Shree Ganesh, drawing inspiration from the age-old practice of worshipping trees in India, a practice prevalent even today. Moreover, Odisha is the land of Lord Jagannath, whose idol is formed from a tree,” said Sujit Mahapatra, the founder of Bakul Foundation said.
Height matters
The height of the idols has always been a factor that draws the crowd. The bigger, the better, feel many. At Bargarh, a 57-ft Ganesa has turned out to be a huge crowd-puller. Similarly, another multi-headed 56-ft Ganesha at Nuasahi in Nayapalli is also catching attention in Bhubaneswar.
Rare forms
At some places, the traditional image of the God has been tweaked a bit. Like in Cuttack, one of the mandaps has Ganesh shaped as Lord Jagannatha. Similarly, Ganesh has a very different Vahana at Bhubaneswar’s Saheed Nagar this year. Instead of mouse, the God is being drawn by bulls.
