People invoke God for successful Games
Facing allegations of corruption, receiving severe criticism for lax preparedness and incomplete projects, the Commonwealth Games 2010 probably need the Gods to be with them. A few pandals celebrating the Ganesh puja seem to have caught up on the idea and depicted “Shera”, mascot for the Games, praying to Lord Ganesha for successful conduct of the Games.
Talking to this newspaper, Mahendra Ladda of Sri Ganesh Sewa Mandal, Delhi, said that his intention was not to be satirical. “We invoke Lord Ganesha before beginning anything big. It was my idea to show Shera praying to the Lord for successful completion of the Games. If the Games are held successfully, it will enhance the prestige of the nation, the capital and all of us,” said Mr Ladda, who has been putting up the Ganesh pandal for the past nine years in east Delhi.
To the query about allegations surrounding the Games, Mr Ladda said that he did not want “to get into politics”. “Ours is the biggest Ganesh puja pandal in the city and many leaders from all political parties visit us. We keep away from politics,” said Mr Ladda.
Mr Ladda added that not many pandals in the city are put up during Ganesha Utsav.
Earlier, people had held hawans and offerings to ensure that Yamuna in spate calmed down and its level went down below the danger mark.
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