The creators of Pappanji, a giant effigy of an old man that has been a key part of New Year celebrations in Kochi, have been forced to redo its face after local BJP leaders raised a hue and cry over its resemblance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the stroke of midnight every December 31, the effigy of Pappanji — also spelled Pappanhi — is set ablaze in a symbolic farewell to the year gone by.

The event is a key attraction of the New Year celebrations, held as part of the December 11-to-January 1 Cochin Carnival, which attracts large crowds from across Kerala as well as Indian and foreign tourists.

On Thursday morning, as the 65-foot-tall effigy was being installed at the Parade Ground in Fort Kochi, a group of local BJP leaders arrived and kicked up a storm over its resemblance to Modi. They said an effigy that looks like Modi cannot be set ablaze.

A Pappanji from 2017 Sourced by The Telegraph

The organisers of the Cochin Carnival, which has entered its 39th year, explained that the face of the effigy was incomplete and that it would be fitted out with a long beard and a moustache.

“The whole issue owed to a misconception about the appearance of Pappanji, who has always sported a very long beard and a moustache. The BJP leaders seemed to have no idea how the finished effigy would look,” carnival treasurer P.J. Josey told The Telegraph on Thursday.

The carnival, promoted by the Kochi Municipal Corporation and the state tourism department — both now helmed by the Left — has caused much excitement since it has returned after being suspended for the two Covid years.

“The effigy will be completed only tomorrow (Friday) morning. But no amount of explaining worked with the BJP leaders. They insisted that we change the face,” Josey said.

He added: “We are not so irresponsible that we would make it look like the Prime Minister.”

A senior police officer who arrived at the spot spoke to both sides and defused the situation, asking the carnival organisers to ensure that Pappanji’s face did not resemble Modi’s.

“Once the beard and moustache are attached, the effigy would not have resembled the Prime Minister, anyway. But still, we have decided to make some more changes,” Josey told this newspaper.

Pappanji is made of cloth and stuffed with hay around a giant steel frame. It is packed with crackers, which go off at the stroke of midnight, bidding goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new.

The tradition of Pappanji is believed to have its roots in the colonial history of Fort Kochi, with small effigies burnt in local neighbourhoods on New Year’s Eve night for centuries.

Over the years, what had started as a Christian celebration turned into a secular event that attracted people across communities.

After the Cochin Carnival began four decades ago, the giant Pappanji came into being and started dominating the tradition, although the small neighbourhood Pappanjis have not disappeared.

The Cochin Carnival’s calendar is packed with cultural programmes, including music concerts by well-known bands, and ends with a carnival parade on January 1.