Muslim man installs Ganpati statue in Hyderabad portraying harmony, brotherhood

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 23 (ANI): A man from the Muslim community along with his Hindu friends installed lord Ganesha’s idol in Telangana’s Hyderabad depicting communal harmony and brotherhood.

The group of friends also worshipped Ganpati statue that was installed in a pandal decorated with lights and garlands.

Speaking to ANI, Mohammed Siddique, a resident of Ram Nagar in Hyderabad said, “We have been installing the idol of Lord Ganesh religiously for the past 18 years in Ramnagar. All the people in the area belonging to Muslim, Sikh and Christian communities take part in the celebrations.”

“We celebrate the festival with a lot of pomp and joy. My Hindu friends also partake in Ramzan celebrations with me, they organise Iftar in the lane and also give donations,” he added.

Sai, a friend of Siddique said, “We have been friends since childhood and that is why we take part in all the celebrations together. We have been installing the idol of Lord Ganesh every year on Ganesh Chaturthi since 18 years. We do the immersion in a very grand manner. Every day cultural activities are conducted along with Anandan and Pooja for 9 days.”

“Siddique is our brother and he has been installing Ganesh idol with us here since we were kids. We stand by him from the Agaman to immersion. We also celebrate Ramzan by giving Iftar and celebrating in the area. We also eat Sheer at his house in Ramzan. We live with each other without any kind of communal feeling,” said another friend Ramu.

On Friday, Mumbai’s famous Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal reportedly received donations of over Rs one crore in two days of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

On the second day of Ganesh Chaturthi, Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal received donations worth over sixty lakh. According to the Mandal, it received over 60,62,000 on the second day taking the total to over 1,02,62,000 in two days of the festival.

Lord Ganpati idol has received an offering of 183.480 grams of gold and 622 grams of silver as a donation. Compared to the first day, the second day received more donations in cash.

Ganesh Chaturthi, a 10-day festival that starts on the fourth day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month ‘Bhadrapada’, started on September 19 this year. This auspicious 10-day festival starts with ‘Chaturthi’ and will end on ‘Anantha Chaturdashi’.

It is celebrated with much fanfare in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra with lakhs of devotees converging into mandals to seek blessing from Lord Ganesh.

For the festivities, people bring Lord Ganesh idols to their homes, observe fasts, prepare mouth-watering delicacies, and visit pandals during the festival.