India, Sept. 15 -- As India celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi from September 14 through Anant Chaturdashi on September 25, artisans and devotees are going well beyond traditional clay idols - crafting my friend Ganesha in everything from diamond-studded statues to bangles, to edible dates and pani puri.

Celebrating their 50th year, the Mallikarjuna Nagar Youth Welfare Association in Uppuguda, Hyderabad, built a futuristic, armour-like robotic Ganesha alongside a high-speed bullet train display. The pandal further incorporated industrial models and patriotic posters depicting India's technological progress toward 2047.

Gold & Diamond Ganesha

In Begum Bazaar market, Hyderabad, devotees installed a glittering 48-kg Ganesha idol coated in 24-car...