GOA, INDIA, September 24, 2015 (Herald Goa): Creatively setting up dekhawas, which are decorations depicting scenes from Hindu mythology, next to Lord Ganesh’s statue is a traditional practice. Apart from adding to the decor and showcasing interesting tales, these dekhawas are testimony to the unity that prevails amidst the youth of that particular area as setting up a grand dekhawa is not a one-man job. Earlier dekhawa utilized the skills of artisans but over the course of time, technology started finding its way into the setup.
Taking innovation one step further are the youth of Mala-Panjim, who happen to be members of the NGO Yuva, who have infused the speed and convenience of smart phones to the festival. “To fulfil this wish we decided to create an app that would allow devotees to have control over the Ganesh statue,” says Raghuvir Mahale, the leader of the group that created this mobile app for Android devices.
The tech-friendly Ganesh dekhawa has been created at Marutigad-Mala for the area’s Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav. “When a devotee enters, they can download the app named ‘NetPlug’ from Google playstore, utilise the wi-fi connection ‘Yuva’ with the password provided, open the app and select ‘Ganesha’. Once you click on the Ganesha picture, the swing where Ganesha is resting starts moving, it then synchronises with his head and hand movements. Ganesh starts eating ladoos, too,” says Raghuvir.