“I’m Raj Kumar Singari, Chairman of the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee. For me, the Khairatabad Ganesh is more than a festival. It has been part of my family and our neighbourhood for generations.

The story goes back to 1954, when my grand-uncle, freedom fighter Singari Shankaraiah Garu, started the tradition by installing a one-foot clay idol in Khairatabad. He was inspired by the idea of bringing people together through public celebrations, much like the community gatherings promoted by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. What began as a small neighbourhood celebration has grown into one of Hyderabad’s most recognised Ganesh Chaturthi traditions.
After him, the responsibility was carried forward by his brother, my father, late Singari Sudarshan Mudiraj Garu, along with family members and organizers like Sandeep Raj Garu, before eventually landing on me. So, for our family, organising the Khairatabad Ganesh is not something we simply take up every year. It is a legacy that has been passed down through generations.

Today, when people see the Khairatabad Bada Ganesh and the crowds that gather around Khairatabad during Ganesh Chaturthi, they see the grand 11 days of festivities. Behind it are months of planning and preparation. Artisans work for weeks on the idol, while our teams take care of everything from arrangements and coordination to the thousands of details that need to come together before the festival begins.

This year, the idol is the Panchamukha Sankatahara Maha Ganapati, with five faces and ten hands. The Somnath Jyotirlinga stands on one side, while Goddess Kalika Mata is placed on the other. More than a hundred artisans from different parts of the country have worked on the idol along with our local teams. There are long days, little sleep and plenty of pressure behind the scenes. But when you have grown up seeing this tradition year after year, you learn to accept that as part of the responsibility.

What stays with me most is seeing people come here with faith and devotion from all regions across the country and beyond. Those moments make all the hard work feel worthwhile.”