How You Can Use Technology to Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi From booking a pandit to ordering a clay idol online, here's how you can celebrate the festival with tech!
By Sanchita Dash •
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Ganesh Chaturthi is here and as with everything; technology has simplified the festival for us as well. From booking your puja slots at the busiest temple in the city to virtually offering your puja, technology has made sure that within the comfort of your home, you can cherish the festivities of Ganesh Puja.
Entrepreneur India takes a look at the various ways in which tech can help you celebrate the festival.
Book your Pandit
If you are organising a big puja at home, it's always great to have a pandit to take care of the rituals. But quite often, we do not know where to find a pandit at the last minute. Many start-ups that offer these services round the year become even more alert and active during a festival. Start-ups like gharkapandit and wheresmypandit.com are reportedly doing a good job. According to reports, gharkapandit even offers a package where they arrange for a pandit on the sthaapna and visarjan day.
VR to the Rescue
With Virtual Reality, one can gain access to events happening in faraway cities while they are at home. One of the busiest Ganesh pandals of the country has to be Mumbai's Lalbaugcha Raja at Lalbaug. But considering the long queues outside the pandal and the trouble of finding a parking spot, many give up the idea of visiting the place in person. But now with VR, one can even get a 360 degree view of the Lalbaugcha Raja. Last year, a team from Alternet devised the Lalbaug360 app, which will help devotees with a complete view of the Lord.
Geo-tagging the Pandals!
With Ganesh Chaturthi also comes a lot of confusion and chaos in the street. From cars and bikes jamming up the roads to hundreds of people out on the roads during the visarjan — the chances of an untoward incident are many. Considering the same, the government of Telangana has come up with the indigenous idea of geotagging the pandals in Hyderabad. Reports claim that the QR codes will help monitor how many times police officials are visiting these pandals. In Vishakhapatnam too, a similar method is being followed where one can even obtain a no-objection certificate to set up a pandal through an online process.
Online Idol Demand
This one's not a surprise. With the popularity of e-commerce websites, Ganesha Idols are also available online, ready to be delivered at your doorstep. But with the increasing awareness of making Ganesh Chaturthi an eco-friendly affair, the demand for clay Ganeshas are on the rise. Innovative methods are also coming up for the same! The online garden store Green My Life is even selling idols which once immersed, can grow into plants. Other organizations like Utsavi Trust are also encouraging environment friendly celebrations by selling eco-friendly home decor that goes with the idol.
