In Covid times chocolate Ganesha catches attention of devotees

Ludhiana:This year the bakeries in the city are trying to catch the attention of city residents by making chocolate Ganesha idols. The idea is catching up among the residents, especially due to lockdown as immersion of such idols can be done at home in hot milk. Besides, only small idols are being preferred by the residents.
Restaurateur and baker from Sarabha Nagar Harjinder Singh Kukreja, who has been making Belgium chocolate Ganesha for the last five years, said, “This year, we have depicted Lord Ganesha in his childhood days where he is sitting over his mouse. The idea was to do something for kids this year.” He said it took 10 days to make the chocolate Ganesha which weighs around 40kg and it is 3 feet tall.
Kukreja, however, said this year they have made small idols from chocolate for sale as well because till last year people used to ask if they are making anything for sale and they used to refuse. So, this year they thought they should give option to the residents to get chocolate Ganesha home. He said these idols could be immersed in milk easily and that chocolate milk can be distributed among people as they have been doing for the past five years.
Manik Bajaj, who has a bakery at BRS Nagar, said people demand small idols, so they made only these this time. He said due to lockdown it was not possible to go out for immersion, so this chocolate Ganesha idol was the best option and moreover, there would be no impact on the environment.
Residents also appreciated the idea and claimed that it would discourage the habit among people to immerse the idols in water bodies. A resident of Aggar Nagar, Deepika Gupta, said, “It is actually a nice idea to get Ganesha in chocolate form as immersion is very easy and that milk can be distributed among the poor as well instead of polluting the water with idols made from harmful chemicals. Moreover, there will be no disrespect towards Lord Ganesha, whom we worship for 10 days and then immerse in the water.”