The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Rain turns immersion into a party!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Rain turns immersion into a party!

Abhijit Dev Kumar & S. Sandeep Kumar

Twenty20 victory spurs many a tricolour flutter from trucks carrying Ganeshas

- Photos: NAGARA GOPAL and K. Ramesh Babu.

Ganesh too not spared: Braving sharp showers, devotees line up to witness immersion of Ganesh idols in Hyderabad on Tuesday. (Right) A procession in old city.

Hyderabad: A world cup victory, the festive season, drummers playing the favourite ‘teen maar’ and to top it all, rain that turned the Ganesh ‘nimmajanam’ immersion procession into a big rain dance event. What more could a Hyderabadi ask for?

The ‘Nimmajanam’ at Tank Bund turned into a dance procession around evening. Call it a scene from a Bollywood movie, or just a plain ’n simple manifestation of the festive spirit, it was a veritable delight, thanks to the showers.

Tricolours galore

It was perhaps the Twenty20 victory that saw many a tricolour fluttering from trucks carrying Ganeshas. Though processions were rushed up throughout the day, the evening at the Necklace Road became a riot! One could see youngsters dancing in the rain, in wild abandon, as the ‘teen maar’ took over. The scene turned even more dramatic when the bigger idols arrived at the venue, each unique in its own way.

Onlookers were amused to see a bunch of boys from Himayatnagar pulling their idol on a skate board and dancing around it, while people ran for shelter from the rain. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Back home we have a yearly carnival, but the colourful ‘do’ for Lord Ganesh here is the biggest gathering I have seen,” said Ronald, a German tourist.

Artistes with the procession had a blast as they were asked to let the music play on. A number of groups went wild taking off their shirts a la Saurav Ganguly, much to the rising amusement levels.

Rain turns spoiler

A procession from L.L. Nagar, Yousufguda, danced with the tricolours in sync, music included, entertaining bystanders and the overworked police.

Things got pepped up when a procession from Begum Bazaar had a DJ scratch records on board, making it look like a disco party.

But things were totally different at Moazzamjahi Market.

Heavy showers brought the processions from Nampally, Afzalgunj and Jambagh to a halt. Waterlogging and traffic congestion stranded many a motorist at the Market junction. Traffic police and Ganesh Utsav Samiti members tried to get the vehicles moving at the crossroads.

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