Event Coverage
Bringing home Lord Ganesha
He is the ‘Dukh Harta’ and the one who removes obstacles. So be it any new project, a new house or a new car, everything starts with his blessings. The western part of the country is now gearing to welcome home the most loved Lord Ganesha. And starting 29 August, one will see huge pandals housing Ganapati at every nook and corner of Maharashtra. His aura is such, that devotees while immersing the Lord, ask him to come back soon, as they chant, ‘Agle Varsh Jaldi Aa’.
From Lalbaug Cha Raja, to the pandals in localities to households are all busy with the last minute preparations. Right from cleaning the house, to making modaks (his favourite sweet), to decorating the house, the stage is set to welcome him home.
While it is a 11-day festival, immersions take place after one and a half days, three days, five days, seven days, nine days and the eleventh day. Host of activities are lined up in the pandals and even at homes for the duration. The day starts with morning aarti, it progresses with hawan, bhajans and then concludes with evening aarti. People, who bring him home, invite family and friends for darshan and treat the Lord like a guest, with morning and evening aarti.
On the occasion, we at indiantelevision.com ask the industry about their preparations for the 11 day festival and how they celebrate it.
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MCOF president, Arvind Prabhoo
We have been bringing home Lord Ganesha for the last 45 years. While the celebrations were restricted only to my mother’s house, it was some 45 years ago, when my brother was some two to three years old, when he got fascinated towards the whole festival and we decided to also bring home the Lord. We bring the Lord home for five days.
The preparations start almost one year in advance, as the order for the idol has to be made. We get an eco-friendly Ganapati. For the past 15 days, the entire family has been busy with cleaning the house, getting ingredients for the Prasad etc.
On day one we have modaks for the Lord and also lunch arranged, on the third day we arrange for bhajan in Gujarati and Marathi, while on the fifth day, my mother makes close to 200 puran poli’s.
We immerse the Lord in the municipal ground next to our house in Villeparle, where the municipality creates an artificial pond.
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Star India SVP programming Ashish Golwalkar
We have been getting Lord Ganesha for more than 20 years. Celebrations and preparations start in full swing almost a week or 10 days in advance. We get Ganapati for seven days. This year, the celebration is going to be on a larger scale as all the families will come under one roof and are celebrating this occasion. We get clay Ganapati and immerse the Lord in the nearby pond.
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Zee 24 Taas business head Bhushan Khot
We have been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi since the past 12 years at our home. We keep for one and a half days and the immersion takes place at an artificially created pond near our home so as to not pollute the water. We have been doing this from my childhood as a joint family and when we moved out to our own place, we continued the tradition.
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Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha
The occasion is very important because it is being celebrated at our home since the last 60 years. My father had started the tradition and we followed suit of bringing home Ganesha for one and a half days and immersion is done at the nearby pond. Along with it, we also prepare Lord Ganesha’s favourite modak and shrikhand and other such sweets.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
