Only in Hyderabad can a laddu become the star of headlines. Forget politics and cinema, this year the legendary Balapur Ganesh laddu once again proved that faith is measured in crores, not calories. The sweet was auctioned for ₹35 lakh, won by Lingala Dashrath Goud. A year ago the same laddu fetched ₹31,01,000, so clearly devotion has adjusted itself for inflation.

For 31 years this tradition has been going strong, and every September the Balapur laddu walks away richer than most start-ups. It is not just a sweet, it is prestige, pride and maybe a shortcut to blessings.

But Hyderabad being Hyderabad, one record is never enough. At My Home Bhooja, another Ganesh laddu went for a staggering ₹51,50,000. Suddenly the Balapur laddu looked like a “budget edition.” The bidding was less about taste and more about titles, with participants proving that devotion is best displayed through chequebooks.

And if that was not dramatic enough, Richmond Villas at Bandlaguda decided to end the suspense by selling their Ganesh 10kg laddu for a jaw-dropping ₹2.31 crore. At this point, one wonders if these laddus come with free real estate or a lifetime supply of luck.

While laddus are busy rewriting records, the city is preparing for the marathon called Ganesh immersion. More than 50,000 idols will travel to Hussain Sagar and other lakes. Over 30,000 police, 134 cranes, 72 artificial ponds, 9 boatsand even 200 swimmers are on standby. The immersion is expected to stretch for 40 hours, giving Hyderabad a festival that feels like both a spiritual journey and a traffic nightmare.
Yet, the spotlight remains on the laddus. They are sweet symbols of faith, power and social standing. At Balapur last year it was ₹31 lakh, this year ₹35 lakh, and tomorrow who knows? But one thing is certain, in Hyderabad devotion is always sweet, always bigger, and definitely never cheap.