Every year Mumbai’s celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi hits national headlines across the country. Ganesh Puja is the biggest festival of Maharashtra, and the grandest celebration in Mumbai. Though Mumbai wins the crowning glory of being the largest hub of Ganesh Puja in India, Hyderabad does not lag behind.
Hyderabad’s biggest Ganesh idol at Khairatabad is the only answer to Mumbai’s boast of Ganesh Festival. The idol of the “Khairatabad Ganesh” is of 60 feet in height. One of the most interesting facts about this Ganesh Puja in Hyderabad is that a laddu weighing 5600 kg is placed on the left hand of the deity during the festivity. Sounds incredible! Yes, but it’s true.
Late Mr. S. Sankarayya, who was a freedom fighter, had initiated the “Khairatabad Ganesh” puja in 1954. Since then, it has been the grandest Ganesh Utsav in Hyderabad City. The 60-feet tall idol is worshiped for 11 days. The massive 5600kg laddu is auctioned for 10 to 12 lakh INR on the eleventh day. The lump sum from the auction of the Maha Laddu goes to a charitable fund.
The ‘immersion’ ceremony of the Khairatabad Ganesh” Puja is a wonderful spectacle. The idol of cosmic dimensions is immersed in the Hussain Sagar Lake, with the help of cranes, on the eleventh day. Here is our exclusive picture of Hyderabad’s Ganesh Idol with the Maha Laddu on the left hand to leave you in awe of divine enormity:
If Hyderabad offers Maha Laddu of 5600kg to Lord Ganesh during the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival, the Temple Town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is famous for the laddu, which is made and distributed as a holy prasad of Lord Venkateswara, in a whopping number of 300,000 a day. Read more about Tirupati Temple Laddu. – Indian Eagle
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