The Richest Ganesh Idols This Season!

Life

oi-Anwesha Barari

By Anwesha Barari

Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 12:35

Whats big and rich for Ganesh idols this season? As we know Ganesh Chaturthi is knocking on the door so its about time we found out which are the biggest and the best Ganesha statues around! Did you know that the net cost of Ganesh idols is shooting up every year! Blame it on inflation but the fact remains that people are willing to make things grand these days when it comes to festivities.

Most Expensive Ganesh Idols:

1. Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbai: When we talk about Ganesha statues we cannot help but talk about the city that never sleeps, Mumbai. Mumbai has one of the largest and richest Ganpatis in India. Money flies in this city, the standard of living is very high which is very well reflected in the standard of living of our Mumbaite Ganpati Bappas as well. The world famous King of Mumbai, is installed in Lalbaug, Parel by the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal. This club is patronized by many biggies in Bollywood like Priety Zinta,Akshay Kumar and Mr. Bodygaurd Salman Khan himself who pays a courtesy visit every year. You will also find special patrons like Sachin Tendulkar and the Ambani's briefly. Although the costs involved in the making of this huge Ganesha festival remains undisclosed it might well cross the 1 million mark!

2. Dagdu Seth Halwai, Pune: Moving on to the cousin city Pune which is the cultural hub of Maharashtra and Ganesh Chaturthi is the main festival here, so its real big! We could talk about numerous clubs that spend millions this festive season but the 108 years old Ganesh idol at Dadgru Seth Halwai stands out. It is the oldest established Ganesh festival in Maharashtra and every bit worth its weight in 'gold'. And we mean the 'gold; part literally. This idol was personally installed at a sweetmeat shop in 1893 but today is one of the richest Ganpati due to the generous donations it receives from devotees. The Ganesha statue is adorned in gold from head to toes; even the famously large elephantine ears of our lord are made of solid gold. With the price of gold rising every week, we can only take a wild guess at the astronomical figure it is worth in cash!

3. Dodda Ganesha, Basavanaguda, Bangalore: Making a beeline for the garden city, another place were Ganesha chaturthi is really special. The Dooda Ganesha is easily the first choice because of its unbelievable width! 'Dooda' in Kannada means big, more like fat. So this is the fattest Ganesh idol obviously cute and cuddly but huge. The amount of money involved in organising this large scale Ganesh Puja and ganpati decorations is likewise, huge.

An average Indian household brings home a little Ganesha but that does not take away our Indian penchant for grandeur. So Ganesha idols continue to grow physically and economically in India.