> How popular is the practice of keeping Ganesha idol temporarily during Ganesha festival before dissolving it
Very popular.
> compared to the rest of India.
But not compared to the rest of India. This is how majority of worship is done.
In West Bengal (state where Kolkata/Calcutta is), there is Durga Puja, in Maharashtra (Mumbai) there is Ganesh puja.
Idols are made out of clay, then worshipped for a day (4 in case of Durga), then they are dissolved in water, preferably in the Ganges.
But environment laws and enforcement are getting stringent, and so the bigger statue is often not worshipped according to rituals, and a much, much smaller one is worshipped, and that is dissolved.
And mind you, these statues are no jokes. They are very carefully created by sculptors, some are work of higher art, and gets awarded by the President.
Indians are known to have many festivals. But there are different dominant festivals in different parts of India.
Moreover, not only statues, but elaborate decorations are created where the statue resides. There are some committees that spend US$100k-$200k for 1-5 days of the festival. These are now often corporate sponsored.
The total GDP of 4 days of Durga Puja in Calcutta is assumed to be US$4.2bn [0]. Although many holistic estimates (including parlor visits, etc. from one month before) put it at as high as $25-$30bn.
You could look at pictures [1][2][3] of these events, and I highly encourage you to do so.
Just note, whatever you see in those, are temporary, and kept for 5-15 days only.
Although these are religious in paper, they are practically secular.
Very popular.
> compared to the rest of India.
But not compared to the rest of India. This is how majority of worship is done.
In West Bengal (state where Kolkata/Calcutta is), there is Durga Puja, in Maharashtra (Mumbai) there is Ganesh puja.
Idols are made out of clay, then worshipped for a day (4 in case of Durga), then they are dissolved in water, preferably in the Ganges.
But environment laws and enforcement are getting stringent, and so the bigger statue is often not worshipped according to rituals, and a much, much smaller one is worshipped, and that is dissolved.
And mind you, these statues are no jokes. They are very carefully created by sculptors, some are work of higher art, and gets awarded by the President.
Indians are known to have many festivals. But there are different dominant festivals in different parts of India.
Moreover, not only statues, but elaborate decorations are created where the statue resides. There are some committees that spend US$100k-$200k for 1-5 days of the festival. These are now often corporate sponsored.
The total GDP of 4 days of Durga Puja in Calcutta is assumed to be US$4.2bn [0]. Although many holistic estimates (including parlor visits, etc. from one month before) put it at as high as $25-$30bn.
You could look at pictures [1][2][3] of these events, and I highly encourage you to do so.
Just note, whatever you see in those, are temporary, and kept for 5-15 days only.
Although these are religious in paper, they are practically secular.
[0]: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/creative...
[1]: https://youtu.be/yaOju_xXy-I
[2]: https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/top-5-d...
[3]: https://www.tripsavvy.com/famous-kolkata-durga-puja-pandals-...