Tomorrow is the festival of Ganesh Chaturti, the festival that pays homage to my ishtadev, the elepant god, Lord Ganesha. In my home state of Maharashtra, it is celebrated in a grand way, with upto 11 days of festivities. It is at this time of the year that I miss Mumbai the most. So here are some photos of Lord Ganesha from my personal collection, with one photo, the last one, from Chiang Mai.
Rohan
I have always loved Ganesh Chaturthi. The noise, music, and dhol, all add to the excitement and even though it’s school time, I always try to visit as many pandals as possible. I am a big boy now and after pestering Mukesh chachu for almost a year, he finally agreed to take me to see the Ganesh visarjan at Chowpatty. We will be taking a train and then walking to the beach. Ma and Baba are angry with chachu, and dada and dadi also don’t want us to go, but I am bih now, so this year I will go, come what may.
Today is Anantchaturdashi, so after having a hearty lunch, we set off for Chowpatty, the air buzzing with anticipation. My heart raced with excitement as we navigated through the crowded streets of Mumbai. Chachu held my hand tightly, guiding me through the sea of people, each one carrying a Ganesh idol towards the sea for immersion. On the way, we also saw some big idols, including Lalbaghcha Raja.
As we reached Chowpatty, the sight was breathtaking. Hundreds of colourful Ganesh idols lined the beach, surrounded by eager devotees singing and dancing in devotion. The scent of incense and the rhythmic beat of drums filled the air, creating an electrifying atmosphere.
“Look, Rohan!” Chachu exclaimed, pointing to the sky. “See those kites flying high? It’s like a festival in the sky too!”
I grinned and pointed to a group of children trying to fly their kites. Chachu, always playful, bought me a beautiful purple balloon from a vendor nearby. “Here, hold onto this, Rohan,” he said, tying it to my wrist. “This way, I’ll always find you, no matter what.”
The purple balloon floated above me, like a guardian angel watching over, as we continued our journey through the chaotic crowd. I felt safe and happy, knowing Chachu was with me and that the balloon would lead him to me if we got separated.
Mukesh
Being the youngest of my siblings, I felt a special bond with Rohan. He was born when I was in school and because the age gap is not too much between us, so we behave more like friends rather than uncle and nephew. When he pleaded with me to take him to Chowpatty for Ganesh visarjan, I couldn’t resist. I knew bhai and bhabhi and ma and baba wouldn’t approve, but I wanted to give him an unforgettable experience.
As we reached Chowpatty, I marvelled at the vibrant spectacle before us. The sea of colours, the sounds of devotion, and the spirit of unity overwhelmed me. Rohan’s eyes lit up with wonder, and I couldn’t help but smile at his excitement. I was so glad I was able to give him this experience he will not forget in a hurry.
To add to the magic of the moment, I bought him a purple balloon. His joy knew no bounds as he clutched it tightly. “Thank you, Chachu! This is the best day ever!” he said, his eyes sparkling like stars.
With Rohan holding my hand, we manoeuvred through the bustling crowd. But as the immersion rituals began, the chaos intensified. Chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudchyavarshi Loukar Ya” filled the air as people bid farewell to their beloved elephant-headed God by carrying them into the sea and bid him goodbye.
Someone pushed me from behind and I felt a tug on my hand. My heart skipped a beat and I looked down, but Rohan wasn’t there! Panic surged through me as I frantically searched the surrounding crowd, calling out his name. But the noise of the festival drowned my voice.
Rohan
Suddenly my hand was torn from chachu and I found myself alone in the crowd. My heart raced as I realized I had lost Chachu. I tightened the balloon in my hand and started crying. I was scared, surrounded by strangers, and unsure of what to do. I walked a while, pushed and prodded by people who were eager to immerse their idols and get home.
After a while, I noticed a group of men and they, on seeing me crying came up to me. They knelt at my level and smiled reassuringly. One of them patted my shoulder gently and said, “Don’t worry, beta, tell us why you are crying”. When I told them my chachu was lost and I was missing my ma and baba, they laughed and told me “We’ll keep you safe until we find your chachu.”
They formed a protective circle around me, like guardian angels. One of the men lifted me and put me on his shoulders so that I could look out for chachu. He also took the purple balloon, which had become my lifeline and held it up as a beacon to signal Chachu where I was. With their reassuring presence, my fear subsided, and I felt a glimmer of hope.
Mukesh
My heart pounded in my chest as I continued searching for Rohan frantically. The festival seemed to have swallowed him whole, and I felt a wave of guilt wash over me for bringing him here against his parents’ wishes. I knew I had to find him before anything happened. I started thinking of all the worst things that can happen. An image flashed across my eyes of Rohan in the clutches of a gang which made children stand in the road and beg and I shuddered with anguish. I ran here and there trying to find Rohan, but could not see anyone resembling him in the crowd.
As I ran, my eyes caught a glimpse of a purple balloon floating above the crowd. It looked like the balloon I brought for Rohan and I was relieved to see it. “Was it Rohan’s balloon?” I didn’t know, but ran towards it because it gave me some hope. I followed its trail to a group of men, one of whom was holding the balloon like a beacon and another holding Rohan on his shoulder. I rushed to his side, my heart swelling with gratitude for these kind strangers.
“Chachu!” Rohan cried out, tears of relief streaming down his cheeks. I hugged him tightly, whispering words of reassurance. “I’m here, Rohan. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” The men smiled warmly, patting Rohan’s back. “He’s a brave boy, and the balloon helped us find you,” one of them said.
Rohan
With chachu’s reassuring presence, the purple balloon back in my hand, and the group of kind men by our side, I felt safe once again. We continued to witness the visarjan of the Ganesh idols and I said a little prayer for bringing my chachu back to me, tightly holding chachu’s hand, not wanting to let go. As the sun set and the festival came to a close, we made our way back home, weaving through the now calmer streets of Mumbai.
I knew I had experienced something extraordinary that day, and it wouldn’t have been the same without the purple balloon and the caring strangers who protected me. I looked up at Chachu, grateful for his love and for keeping his promise to me.
ukesh
The experience of losing Rohan and finding him again had been a rollercoaster of emotions. I knew now, more than ever, that my duty as his uncle was to protect and cherish him. The purple balloon had played a crucial role in reuniting us, and I couldn’t help but smile at its significance.
As we walked back home, I held Rohan’s hand tightly in mine, vowing to never let go. The chaotic festival reminded me of the fragility of life and the importance of treasuring our loved ones. I sent a small prayer to Vignaharta, the remover of obstacles who brought my nephew back to me. Though we returned to the safety of our home, the memories of the festival and the purple balloon would forever remain etched in our hearts. I recounted this experience to my brother, bhabhi and parents and we all hugged Rohan once again, knowing that without the kindness of these strangers, our little boy may have been lost to us forever. The city of Mumbai, one again, showed us what it is made of. Exhausted, as I went to bed, the strains of the songs “Ae dil hai mushkil jeena yahan, Zara hatke zara bachke yeh hai Bombay meri jaan” came through the television of our neighbour and I smiled at the expansiveness of the city of my birth as sleep claimed me.
My favourite festival and one that I look forward to all year, especially when I was still living in India, Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates the birth of the elephant God, Lord Ganesh. This festival is made extra special because Lord Ganesh is my ishtadev and I was born during the eleven days this festival is celebrated in Mumbai and so my star birthday is always during this festival. As per Hindu religious books, the Lord Ganesha was born on Shukla Chaturthi during Bhadrapada lunar month which comes sometime in the months of August and September according to the Gregorian calendar.
Since Lord Ganesh is the destroyer of obstacles and the one who has to be worshipped first before any other worship, he is very important in the Hindu Pantheon and from where I come from, the favorite God. If there was a state Lord, I am sure Lord Ganesh will be that for Maharashtra!
Traditionally the festival used to be celebrated at home by installing small clay idols of Lord Ganesh, but during India’s independence struggle, in 1893 after the installation of the first sarvajanik or public Ganesh idol in Pune by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale or Bhau Rangari, Lokmanya Tilak, a legendary freedom fighter praised the celebrations of the public festivities in his newspaper, Kesari, and dedicated his efforts to launch the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organised public event. Tilak recognised Lord Ganesh’s appeal as “the god for everybody”, and chose this particular God as the one that bridged “the gap between Brahmins and non-Brahmins”, thereby building a grassroots unity across them to oppose British colonial rule.
It is also said that in 1870, the British colonial rulers, out of fear of seditious assemblies, had passed a series of ordinances that banned public assembly for social and political purposes of more than 20 people in British India, but exempted religious assembly for Friday mosque prayers under pressure from the Indian Muslim community. Tilak believed that this effectively blocked the public assembly of Hindus whose religion did not mandate daily prayers or weekly gatherings, and he leveraged this religious exemption to make Ganesh Chaturthi to circumvent the British colonial law on large public assembly. The first sarvajanik Ganesh utsav and statue of Lord Ganesh was installed in the Keshavji Nayak Chawl at Girgaum Mumbai by Tilak in 1893. This festival then took off and is a huge festival in my home state of Maharashtra and today is a pan Indian public festival where large and small idols of Lord Ganesh are installed anywhere from 1.5 to 11 days.
On the last day, be it one and a half days, three days, five days, seven days, nine days or eleven days, the idols are taken to a large body of water, be a pond, river or the sea and immersed so that the Lord can return back to his home in Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Offerings are made to the Lord twice a day with prayers and an arti and the holy offerings distributed to everyone.
In Mumbai, traditionally there will be Ganesh pandals or temporary structures to house the Lord in pretty much every locality of the city. If I think back, where we live in Mumbai, in a one-km radius, I can thinkof atleast 10-15 Ganpati pandals which are of varying sizes with corresponding sizes of the idols of Lord Ganesha.
One such pandal is the one that is hosted by the GSB Seva Mandal, founded by the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community, who have installed an idol not too far from my home for the last 65 years. This is Mumbai’s most famous and richest Ganpati mandal in Mumbai whose idol each year is adorned with gold jewellery weighing around a staggering 73 kgs! This is due to the offerings made by devotees each year because of wishes that have been fulfilled. When I was in Mumbai, I used to try and make it to this pandal every year to pray. This Ganesh idol is only installed for five days and so some years, it used to be a challenge to try and make it, but I would do my best. This idol is always an eco-friendly one, made out of clay and here there is none of the usual recorded music there, instead, traditional Indian musical instruments used in south Indian temples are played.
Another iconic Ganesh idol is the Lalbaghcha Raja or the King of Lalbagh. This is probably the most visited mandal in Mumbai, formed in 1934 and the idol comes from just one family and the design is now patent-protected. This idol draws an average of an astounding 1.5 million people daily when it is installed and people stand in lines for hours just to see and pray to this idol which they believe will fulfill their wishes. Lalbaghacha Raja has cancelled their Ganeshotsav this year in the light of the coronavirus, instead the focus will be on health, with a blood and plasma donation camp held instead.
Only a couple of lanes from Lalbaghcha Raja is the Mumbaicha Raja which is also very popular. This mandal is well known for its new and innovative themes each year, often a replica of a famous place in India. It was formed for the benefit of the mill workers in 1928, making it the oldest one in the area. Even though this Ganesh idol is often very busy and crowded, waiting times can be as little as 20 minutes to a few hours.
Another Ganesh mandal close-by is the Khetwadicha Ganraj, which is considered to be one of the most spectacular Ganesh idols in Mumbai. The mandal was established in 1959 but found fame in 2000, when it made the highest Ganesh idol in Indian history, standing 40 feet tall. The idol at Khetwadi is decked out in real gold jewelry and adorned with diamonds.
The Andhericha Raja in the western suburb of Andheri is what the Lalbaugcha Raja is to south Mumbai. The mandal was established in 1966 by the workers of the Tobacco company, Tata Special Steel and Excel Industries Ltd, who moved from Lalbaug to be closer to their factories. Compared to many other famous mandals in Mumbai, the idol isn’t as towering or imposing. However, it has a reputation for fulfilling wishes. The mandal’s theme is usually a replica of a significant temple in India. This idol is different because unlike other idols which are immersed on the eleventh day which is Anant Chaturdashi, this idol is immersed on Sankashti Chaturthi, which is about five days after Anant Chaturdashi.
Writing this post has made me super nostalgic for the Ganesh festival in Mumbai. In the last twenty years that I have been in Singapore, I have never been back for the festival and now with the pandemic and restrictions, it seems quite unlikely in the near future. Also this year, because of the lockdown and the fact that these idols attract huge crowds, many of the Ganesh mandals have either decided to not install an idol or if they do, they plan to install a small idol. The government has also banned public immersions on Anant Chaturdhashi and so according to a report I read, after four decades, 99 percent of all Mumbai’s top public Ganeshotsav organisers have decided to reduce the side of the idols to a maximum of four feet. It is said that this is only the second time in the history of Ganeshotsav that the festival would be drastically scaled down without the immersion ceremonies, and on both occasions it was due to an invisible disease, the first time being in 1896 when Pune was hit by a killer bubonic plague which claimed many lives.
To everyone who is bringing home the Vighnaharta tomorrow, Happy Ganesh Chaturi to you and your loved ones. May the remover of obstacles pave the way to success for you and yours.
Ganpati Bappa Morya, Mangal Murti Morya!
Memories and Such 