Hyderabad: City goes Mumbai way with Aagaman culture

Hyderabad: The Mumbai culture of ‘Shri Ganesh Aagaman’ grips the city as the devotees are welcoming their favourite deity with colourful processions with beautiful illumination and bands even before the start of Chaturthi.

The organisers in the city are seen taking out huge processions to welcome Bappa into their pandals and devote themselves for the next ten days of the festival. For many, the festival is to prove that their idol of Bappa and procession was best. In the past, the procession was limited to immersion but during the last couple of years, the Aagaman of Ganapati has been the new trend in the city.

The areas such as Ramnagar, Asifnagar, Mallepally, Secunderabad, Gowlipura, Begum Bazar have witnessed the colourful Aagaman during the last one week as Bappa is reaching into the pandals. Gogikar Shlok from the Blue Star Friends Association, Secunderabad said that their next year’s planning starts right after the immersion. “We sit and plan for the next year on how the idol should be and how the procession should be taken out and what is the contribution the group should make. We feel blessed with Bappa being part of our daily lives. It is like God living with us,” said Shlok.

The pandal organisers said that Mumbaikars have special swag in celebrating festivals and Aagaman is a big hit. Another pandal organiser K Adarsh Kumar said that the way lakhs of devotees throng the streets on the final day to bid adieu, they also are being part of welcoming Bappa. This trend is catching up in Hyderabad now.

Adarsh said that the best part of the festival apart from installation and pooja is the procession on the last day. This is my favourite festival and we celebrate with perfect planning. “We have to book everything in advance to avoid the last-minute surge in pricing. Contribution is done by all the friends without insisting on donation. We don’t force people to give money, they voluntarily donate as everyone wants their area Ganapati the best one and the biggest satisfaction is when people take pictures and videos of our troupe,” said Adarsh.

The city which has seen Aagaman processions during the last fortnight will now immerse in devotion for the next ten days with programmes like ‘Samuhik Aarti’, ‘prasadam’ and Annadanam during the festival.