Ganesh Utsavam in Vijayawada turns festival season into a livelihood engine
Vijayawada's grand Ganesh Utsavam sustains thousands of livelihoods, from idol makers and priests to flower vendors, decorators and technicians.
The annual Ganesh Utsavam in Vijayawada, celebrated on an elaborate scale, has become a significant source of income for thousands of people across the state, spanning priests, petty vendors, artisans, technicians and others associated with the festivities.
Flower vendor P. Ramakrishna said the celebrations were held on a grand scale and that Lord Ganesh provided livelihoods to thousands of petty vendors, artisans and sellers of puja materials, flowers, fruits and patri every year.
Organisers make extensive arrangements to erect grand pandals with varied themes, generating work for artisans, decorators, technicians, electricians, fruit and flower vendors, caterers and others.
At Siri Nagar, the organising committee has been conducting a 21-day Ganesh Utsavam for more than 15 years. Committee member Vemuri Suresh said spiritual discourses and cultural events, including Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance competitions and Harikatha performances depicting tradition and culture, are held during the festivities.
Fellow member Malladi Tarak Sai Teja said this year's pandal theme featured the Ganesh idol decorated with figures representing various Hindu deities and divine avatars. Eight priests will conduct special pujas, kalyanams, archanas and vratams, with teertha prasadams distributed after the daily puja through the 21-day Utsavam.
Idol makers from Rajasthan, West Bengal and other states say their families work on the idols throughout the year and survive on the earnings from the festival. "Our families make idols of Lord Ganesh throughout the year and earn money during the festival, which will last until the next year's Chavithi," said idol maker Ram Singh.
Decoration artists, private electricians and stage decorators are fully booked during the festival period. Mr. Sai Teja noted that priests, tent house owners, flower, fruit and coconut vendors, and cooks must be booked in advance for the utsavam.
Flower shop owners and decoration workers also ensure the supply of essential and hybrid flowers for pandal decorations. "We collect lotus flowers from the nearby ponds, arrange jasmine and rose flowers, and import hybrid varieties from Bengaluru," said decoration artist B. Dora Babu.