Devotees installing Ganesh idols for 106 years

The season of Ganpati is here and the city has been decked up with a number of Ganesh pandals --- some recent, and some, who have been following the tradition for many years now.One such, over-a-century-old Ganesh devotee group is the Sri Balveer Bhakta Samaj in Hussaini Alam, which is in the heart of the Old city.They have been continuing the practice of installing a Ganesh idol during the festival for 106 years now.Says Ashok Singh, chairman of the Samaj, “We have still preserved the certificates of the security permission granted for installation in 1919 by the then Nizam administration.” There was a time when this place was a perfect example of communal harmony as Hindus and Muslims would come together every year to celebrate Vinayaka chaviti.Muslims organise the ‘pujas’ and ‘aarti’ in the morning and evening as well as receive the devotees.And now, even though Muslims may not be involved in the organising of the puja and aarti, various Muslim families visit the pandal along with their families to be a part of the puja.“I am the one who is organising this pandal for now.Even though Muslim don’t organise the puja for now, a lot of Muslims come with their kids for the aarti and prasad.The idol was installed on Thursday, followed by a grand puja.After that sarees and dhotis were distributed to women and men in the society, and note books were distributed to the children,” informs Singh.He further says, “We will take out a grand procession on the tenth day of the festival, wherein the celebrations go on till 3 am.Various other communities are also involved and prizes are awarded to the best decorated idol and so on.”