Maharashtra's Ganesh festival grows flashy and increasingly commercialized by sponsors
Entertainment
Ganesh festival in Maharashtra has gone big: mandals outdoing each other with giant, flashy idols, booming sound systems, and a flood of political posters.
Big-ticket sponsors are everywhere, making the celebrations feel more commercial and less about quiet devotion.
Ganesh festival embraces lasers and drones
Even Ganesh himself might chuckle at how things have shifted, from his father's simple lifestyle to his own glittering look on stage.
Classic modaks now come sugar-free, and aartis have turned into Bollywood-style shows with lasers and drones.
The heart of the festival is still there, but it's definitely wrapped in a lot more sparkle these days.