Little Devotees, Big Celebrations: Children Take Centre Stage This Ganesh Chaturthi
Children across Hyderabad joined Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations by dancing, welcoming idols, joining immersions and helping organise neighbourhood festivities.
From accompanying their Ganesha idols in trucks to beating plates and spoons like drums while welcoming them, children have become one of the most visible parts of Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations.
For many of them, the festival is not just about the rituals but also about dancing around their idol, travelling with it during immersion and, sometimes asking if it can be kept forever and shedding tears when it is time to say goodbye.
A day before the idols began arriving at pandals, a group of boys aged between six and 10 caught the attention of Hyderabadis near Himayatnagar. Instead of traditional drums, the children used steel plates and spoons from their homes to create their own music as they welcomed Ganesha. Videos of their celebration, posted as reels on Instagram, soon crossed millions of views in Hyderabad.
The excitement continued during the immersions at Tank Bund, where several children could be seen holding on to their small idols as they were taken in cranes and vehicles for immersion.
Six-year-old Kritansha was excited about travelling in the vehicle carrying her apartment's Ganesha, but the immersion was another matter. “I don't like sending Ganesha to his mother Parvathi. This year, we had two at home. I cried while saying goodbye. But he has to go. Today, I am seeing so many big Ganeshas. I got into the truck and danced while saying goodbye to Ganesh. We also threw flowers at each other,” she said.
For some children, the festival has become a family tradition. K. Chinamayee, a Class 5 student, going to the immersion with her parents, siblings and cousins Anagha and Nithya, said: “We do it every year and it is a lot of fun. I wait to see the large Ganesh idols sitting in the vehicles,” she said.
But children are not only participants at the pandals. In some neighbourhoods, they are also taking responsibility for organising them.
In Gowliguda, Aarav and his group were busy managing their Ganesha celebrations. Between coordinating their clothes, dancing to songs played on their parents' phones and helping with the arrangements, the children have their own way of making the festival special.
“We keep Ganesha every year. Since last year, we have also been auctioning the ladoos. The money is used for next year's Ganesha. My father comes with us for the immersion. We put up the shed, select our Ganesha and collect money from people in the neighbourhood. Some elders also help us while transporting the idol. There are many apartments around, so we go around collecting money. We do our pooja and sit near our Ganesha throughout the night,” Aarav said.
