Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the Hindu festivals that are resplendently celebrated in and around Hyderabad, every year. Almost 1 lakh community idols are set up during the festival. It’s customary to auction the Laddu Prasadam at the end of the festival. Of course, at some places, auctioning of Laddu Prasadam is a daily affair for all 9 days though, at some places, it will be done at the closure of the celebrations. The admiration attained by the Balapur Ganesh Laddu is more than the fame of any other auction of Laddu Prasadam.
The commencement of auctioning off the Ganesh Laddu has become regular in Balapur in 1994, fourteen years after the beginning of the celebrations. The trend of auctioning the Ganesh Laddu in the entire world is said to have begun in Balapur, a small village surrounding Hyderabad.
There is a strong belief among the folks that Balapur Laddu brings a boon to one who buys it. It is the trust of everyone that the Laddu brings good luck to the bidder who owns it in the auction. After winning the bid, the winner would distribute it among the villagers and would also shower some of it in the fields for an enhanced yield.
It is worth watching the live event and the fervor of the people once the bidding reaches the previous year’s amount. The actual core for vehemence in the crowd begins from the moment the bid crosses the limit set by the previous year’s bidder. In the auction in which almost 20 bidders participate, it has been mostly Kollan Mohan Reddy and Kollan Krishna Reddy who won the bids, most of the times. This year, on September 23, 2018, Srinivas Gupta owned the laddu in the bid for ₹16.6 lakh, one lakh more than the previous year’s bid.
The detailed list of the bidders ever since the bids commenced is as follows:
|
Year |
Bidder Name |
Amount (Rs.) |
|
2018 |
Srinivas Gupta |
16,60,000.00 |
|
2017 |
Nagam Tirupathi Reddy |
15,60,000.00 |
|
2016 |
Skylab Reddy |
14,65,000.00 |
|
2015 |
Kalle Madan Mohan Reddy |
10,32,000.00 |
|
2014 |
Singireddy Devendar reddy |
9,50,000.00 |
|
2013 |
Teegela Krishna reddy |
9,26,000.00 |
|
2012 |
Govardhan reddy |
7,50,000.00 |
|
2011 |
Kolan Brothers |
5,45,000.00 |
|
2010 |
Kodali Sreedar Babu |
5,35,000.00 |
|
2009 |
Saritha |
5,10,000.00 |
|
2008 |
Kollan Mohan Reddy |
5,07,000.00 |
|
2007 |
G. Raghunandana Chary |
4,15,000.00 |
|
2006 |
Chigirintha Tirupathi Reddy |
3,00,000.00 |
|
2005 |
Ibram Shekar |
2,08,000.00 |
|
2004 |
Kollan Mohan Reddy |
2,01,000.00 |
|
2003 |
Chigirintha Bal Reddy |
1,55,000.00 |
|
2002 |
Kandhada Madav Reddy |
1,05,000.00 |
|
2001 |
G. Raghunandana Chary |
85,000.00 |
|
2000 |
Kallem Anji Reddy |
66,000.00 |
|
1999 |
Kallem Prathap Reddy |
65,000.00 |
|
1998 |
Kollan Mohan Reddy |
51,000.00 |
|
1997 |
Kollan Krishna Reddy |
28,000.00 |
|
1996 |
Kollan Krishna Reddy |
18,000.00 |
|
1995 |
Kollan Mohan Reddy |
4,500.00 |
|
1994 |
Kollan Mohan Reddy |
450.00 |
A famous verse from the Bhagavad-Gita says, “Man is of the nature of his faith – what his faith is that verily he is”. Surely, the person who wins the bid would develop a great faith supported by the strong customary belief of getting a boon, if the bid is won. Such strong faith would attract very strong waves of positive energy (taking a reference of the concept of the law of attraction) abundant in the universe, thereby achieving the most. Yes, it’s the only secret behind the popularity of Balapur Laddu!!
– Dr. Suman Kumar Kasturi
