Indian Baker Makes 200 Kg Lord Ganesha 'Chocolate Idol' to Mark Ganesh Chaturthi Festival
17:44 GMT 13.09.2021 (Updated: 10:39 GMT 19.07.2022)
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The 11-day long 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival is one of India’s most popular Hindu celebrations; it marks the birth of Lord Ganesha. It is celebrated in different parts of the country, albeit without much fanfare, due to the pandemic.
A baker in India created a 200-kg Lord Ganesha idol from Belgian chocolate during the ongoing religious festivities that mark the birth of the revered Hindu God, who is worshipped by millions for his auspiciousness and good fortune in life.
Harjinder Singh Kukreja from the city of Ludhiana in the Indian state of Punjab took to social media and posted a video of his edible opus: 10 chefs took over 10 days to complete the Ganesha idol.
"We have been making chocolate Lord Ganesha for the past six years for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. But this time, we have made the idol bigger, from 40 kg to 200 kgs. Every year, we promote the idea of celebrating the festival in an eco-friendly way," Kukreja told Sputnik.
He said it was a conscious decision to not make a business out of it by selling chocolate Lord Ganesha idols.
This is our 6th consecutive year of the Chocolate Ganesha! It took a team of 10 chefs, 10 days and 200+ Kgs Belgian Chocolate to make this eco-friendly Ganesha. We plan to do Visarjan (immersion) in milk and distribute Chocolate Milk Prasad to underprivileged kids in slum areas. pic.twitter.com/qR652OCerC
— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) September 9, 2021
Generally, Ganesha idols are made of clay or plaster of Paris and then coloured using different paints before being immersed on the final day in any river, lake, or well by the devotees.
But after worshipping his chocolate-made Ganesha idol for two days, Kukreja culminated the festivities on Sunday by immersing it in milk. The chocolate milk was then distributed among underprivileged children in the slums.
"After duly worshipping Lord Ganesha for two days, we did the idol's 'visarjan' [immersion] in the milk. We have a collaboration with an NGO called 'Robinhood Army' who distributed the chocolate milk among children in various slums of our area," Kukreja added.
Volunteers from the Robinhood Army NGO distributing chocolate milk to underprivileged children at a slum area in Punjab state's Ludhiana city.
© Photo : Harjinder Singh Kukreja
