Chennai: Unique Ganesh pandal set up in honour of Wayanad landslide survivors – Tamil Nadu News

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrated on Saturday, a unique pandal in Chennai has attracted attention for its unique theme in honour of the Wayanad landslide survivors. The pandal’s artist Shanmugam has been creating Ganesh-themed installations for the past 26 years, inspired by current events and popular topics.

Last year, Shanmugam created a pandal depicting the Chandrayaan-3 rocket flying alongside Lord Ganesha.

This year, he built a large Ganesh idol alongside an elephant and sculptures of an elderly woman and a child, inspired by a touching story of the Wayanad landslide. The landslide, one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent times, claimed at least 392 lives.

STORY BEHIND GANESH PANDAL THEME

The theme pays homage to a real-life incident where an elderly woman named Sujatha and her grandson narrowly escaped their home during a landslide while fleeing to a coffee plantation. During their escape, they encountered three elephants. Sujatha later told the media how she pleaded with one of the elephants not to harm them, and the animal guarded them until morning.

The story of Sujatha’s encounter with elephants went viral, inspiring Shanmugam to create the ‘Vana Ganesha’ pandal to honour the victims and survivors of the Wayanad landslide.

The pandal was set up near Keelkattalai in Chennai, capturing the spirit of resilience and the connection between humans and nature.