Last Updated: September 06, 2022, 20:18 IST
On 11th day, instead of actually going through the Visarjan process, locals sprinkle water on the idol from the nearby stream and keep safe custody of the rare Ganesh idol made of wood. (News18 Photo)
This particular story is about the case of a 74-year-old a Ganesh idol that has never seen a ‘Visarjan’ in Telangana. The reason – the Ganesh idol is made of wood.
Ganesh Idols across the country witness a similar tradition – they are first placed in a pandal in a grand event that sees several devotees. The idols then go through the famous Visarjan or the immersion ceremony. This particular story is about the case of a 74-year-old a Ganesh idol in Telangana that has never seen a ‘Visarjan’. The reason – the Ganesh idol is made of wood.
Going in to the details, there is a Ganesh temple in a village Palaj which borders Maharashtra and is located in a distance of four kms from Nighwa village in Kubeer mandal of Nirmal district in Telangana.
Every year the villagers install the Ganesh idol made of wood in the pandal near the temple during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. They perform pujas to the idol for 11 days with utmost religious fervor. On 11th day, instead of actually going through the Visarjan process, locals sprinkle water on the idol from the nearby stream and keep safe custody of the rare Ganesh idol made of wood.
According to locals, there is a reasonable history behind this ritual where immersion of the Ganesh idol will not take place. In 1948, contagious diseases spread in the village that claimed the lives of as many as 30 people. It was during this epidemic period, that the Ganesh Chaturthi festival was celebrated. The villagers decided to install one common idol in the village. Thus, they went to Nirmal and approached Nakashi artiste Polakonda Gundaji. He carved Ganesh idol on wood and handed over it to the villagers. The villagers brought the idol and installed it at the pandal near the temple.
From then on, there were no traces of the spread of any contagious diseases in the village. This soon became a favourite spot for devotees who visited the pandal from other parts of Telangana and even parts of Maharashtra who gather there in large numbers all to see the Ganesh idol that has never seen a single visarjan.
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