At the iconic Charminar, Hyderabad appeared to have slipped into a different rhythm on Friday, September 25. Under a sky that shifted between overcast and sunny, one Ganesh idol after another made its way past the 435-year-old historic monument.

From trucks carrying the idols and from people lining the streets came chants of ‘Bolo Ganesh Maharaj ki Jai’ and ‘Ganapati Bappa Morya’, adding to the festive mood as the immersion processions wound their way through the Old City right from morning.

For the hundreds of visitors at Charminar, the day offered more than the usual glimpse of one of Hyderabad’s best-known landmarks. While many had come to visit the monument, others had turned up just to watch the large number of Ganesh idols passing through the area on their way for immersion. Near Charminar, one stage was meant for announcements, while another at a lower level had cultural programmes as the processions passed the area.

For some visitors, the spectacle came as a complete surprise.

Mukesh Kumar, a tourist from Lucknow who had travelled to Hyderabad for a meeting, had no idea that Ganesh immersion processions pass near Charminar. With a flight to catch later in the night, he had decided to spend the hours before his departure visiting some of Hyderabad’s popular spots. “I have a flight tonight and I checked out from my hotel thinking I will go around popular places in the city and then head to the airport. Through social media, I knew that the immersion is today but did not know that idols pass by the Charminar also. I absolutely loved the community vibe here,” he said.

Wait and cheer

A few kilometres away, the mood around Khairatabad and Tank Bund was very different, but carried the same sense of wait and cheer.

For some families, that wait has become an annual custom. “We come here every year to watch the immersion. The final day of immersion has become a ritual for us to come along with our children who get to see what Ganesh immersion looks like,” said Priyesh, who had come with his wife and two children.

As the day wore on, the immersion began taking over more of Hyderabad. Across the city, huge trucks carrying Ganesh idols joined the roads, while others brought smaller idols in cars and on two-wheelers as they headed towards the Hussainsagar for immersion. The scale varied from procession to procession, but the destination remained the same.

Along the routes, immersion day was not only about taking the idols to the lake. At several places, organisers had set up stalls beside footpaths and were distributing ‘prasadam’ to anyone willing to stop for a meal.

Volunteers could be seen serving food to strangers. Near Afzalgunj, Rakesh and his family were among those who had set up one such stall. “During the festival, we do everything for Lord Ganesh. Once he leaves, we also do Samaj Seva, which is by feeding people the prasadam,” he said.