Ganesh festival : Sahyadri

I went to a major installation of the Ganesh idol at Sahyadri yesterday. It had been drizzling all along but fortunately when I was there, the rain had stopped and so I could take some pictures too. We knew some local hot-shot there and hence could bypass the normal line of around 500 people. We were ushered in from the exit.

The inner room was full of smoke etc. and with all the lighting etc., it was supposed to resemble some outer-space kind of scene. Anyway we saw the idols, which were pretty good. Once in a while some hot-shot would bring his people in - who would get preferential treatment over the others - they would get personal attention from the local priests etc.

There was a guy with a trumpet (tootaaree) at the entrance and we asked him to pose for a picture. This he did gleefully and also blew it - toooot. This evoked some kind of laughter from some inspectors and constables who have been posted inside the mandap. After all this is supposed to be the idol of the don. He is also said to make an incognito appearance at the mandap during the ten day festival.