All roads lead to Hussainsagar

Hyderabad: The Ganesh immersion embodies Hyderabad in all its crowded, robust, life-filled, order-in-the-chaos glory! 

With the lake forming an apt setting, Tank Bund was transformed into a sea of exuberant colours amid thousands of Ganesh idols in various hues and sizes by a boisterous crowd. Tank Bund became a massive gathering of people, music, dance, and colour. On Friday, all roads led to Hussainsagar as a huge number of Hyderabadis thronged the lake to perform or watch the immersion of large, creatively designed idols or simply revel in the festivities. 

Huge cranes could be seen lowering equally enormous idols into the lake while the throng stood enthralled and the sounds of loud horns could be heard throughout the area and beyond. The afternoon's torrential downpour only momentarily halted the celebrations. Revellers were spotted dancing and singing as they bid final adieu to Lord Ganesh for this year.

Visitors, of all ages came up with unique and creative ways to stand out from the crowd. Nandkishor Bhagwan Rao was spotted transporting his Ganesh idol on a specially constructed cart that he built himself and had the Tricolour attached to it. This year, quirky masks were a notable feature, with children choosing animal-themed masks. Sandeep Raj, a visitor, stood out from the crowd with his Guy Fawkes mask.

The Ganesh immersion may have been the hawkers' busiest day of the year because their goods were in high demand. Street food, dolls, toys, coloured ropes, masks, balloons, dried plants, and tiny, jelly-like flowers were all in high demand. They weren't only hawkers; even the street soothsayers were in high demand. K Shankar was extremely busy because many people were interested in his parakeet Ram, which claims to be able to foresee people's destinies by selecting cards from a stack. Shankar expressed his satisfaction with the volume of visitors this year.

Shiv Kumar and his five companions were among the many excited tourists who had spent the entire day beside the lake and later made their way to the Khairtabad Ganesh procession, which was the centre of attraction at the immersion.