Khairatabad Bada Ganesh

In 1954, following the integration of Hyderabad into the Indian Union, freedom fighter and former municipal councillor Singari Sankaraiah founded the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsava Samithi to foster communal harmony and patriotic unity during the 10-day Vinayaka Chaturthi festival. Starting with a modest 1-foot clay idol, the festival established a unique tradition of increasing the idol's height by one foot every year.

By 2014, the idol reached a towering height of 60 feet. Created over three months by hundreds of skilled artisans from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana led by master craftsman Chinnaswamy Rajendran, the idol features intricate thematic depictions of Vedic deities sculpted entirely out of eco-friendly clay, organic grass straw, water colors, and a massive steel armature.

A legendary highlight of the festival is the offering of a monumental "Maha Laddu" weighing between 500 kg to 5,000 kg, specially crafted by traditional sweet makers from Tapeswaram. On Anantha Chaturdashi, the monumental deity is carried on a massive custom 26-wheel hydraulic trailer in a grand 12-hour carnival procession through Khairatabad and Secretariat to Tank Bund for immersion into Hussain Sagar.