When the festival is over, Ganesha does not always merge with the elements and reach Kailasa as he is supposed to. He is often abandoned in public places:

Similarly, when the patriotic frenzy of “Pandrah August” fades, our country’s flag is cast aside with disrespect:

Both these photos were taken in Lalbagh. Devotion of any kind…whether to God or to country…is something that should be practised and lived, daily, not indulged in for one day in a feel-good token display.