Swara's

Every year, numerous Ganesha pendals set up across the state herald the arrival of September. They are set up with great effort, incorporating various aspects of ritual tradition and regional culture, often competing with each other. Pop culture invariably makes its way to these pendals; largely influencing the decorations, idol designs and the most evident of all, the pendal soundtracks. Over the decade, pop music has emerged as a celebrated part of Ganesha Habba. From orchestra performances to playing DJ remixes during visarjane, pop music has found its way into what is largely perceived as devotional gathering.   It is so prevalent that it almost seems organic.   Songs like ‘Deva Shree Ganesha’ from Agneepath and ‘Shambu Sutaya’ from ABCD have emerged to become synonymous with the festival across the country. While ‘Gajamukhane Ganapathiye’ is indispensable; people grooving to ‘Kenchalo Manchalo’ is also long standing in Karnataka. Any regional song with a catchy tun...