Mumbai Ganeshotsav in pics: City’s oldest Ganpati, pandal in red-light district, and more

The Keshavji Naik Chawl Ganpati. (Express photos by Srishti Kapoor)

Girgaon is home to many renowned Ganpati pandals. While Khetwadi is known to have pandals in almost each of its 3 lanes, the grandeur of the 13th lane idol and the tallest idol of Maharashtra at 45 feet in another one of its lanes is unmissable. In the nearby Nikadwadi lane sits the Girgaoncha Raja, which has focussed since many years on making eco-friendly Ganpati idols.

The opulent Khetwadi 13th lane Ganpati. (Express photo by Srishti Kapoor)

At 45 feet, the tallest Ganpati idol of Maharashtra towers over devotees in another Khetwadi lane. It dates back to 1962. (PTI)

The Girgaoncha Raja in Naikwadi Lane. (Express photo by Srishti Kapoor)

The richest Ganpati pandal of Mumbai – GSB Seva Mandal in King’s Circle – had a Lord Ganesha idol decked in 66.5 kilograms of gold ornaments, more than 295 kilograms of silver as well as other precious items. In its 69th year, the mandal took an insurance cover of Rs 360.4 crore. Facial recognition cameras kept an eye on the opulent pandal where havan was held for the successful construction and opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The GSB Seva Mandal Mahaganpati. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

Celebrations and crowds did not near dampen after a case by the Sakal Maratha Samaj Maharashtra against Mumbai’s most famous Lalbaugcha Raja alleged disrespect to warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s royal seal, popularly called ‘Rajmudra’. The pandal saw a stream of politicians, actors, businessmen and celebrities, apart from unimaginable seas of crowds.

Moreover, this year’s Lalbaugcha Raja is the last time arti director Nitin Desai designed the pandal. Desai, who died by suicide, had themed the pandal on the 350th coronation anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal is frequented by politicians, businessmen, actors and other celebrities. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Mandal members counting donations received at Lalbaugcha Raja. (PTI)

Meanwhile, Ganpati also found his way to the lanes of the red-light district of Kamathipura, where the idol sat on a street flanked by brothels.

The Ganpati pandal in Kamathipura. (Express photo by Srishti Kapoor)

In Parel, Lalbaugcha Raja is not the only famous pandal. Within a walkable radius are the Chinchpokli Chintamani, Tejukaya Ganpati and Ganesh Galli Ganpati. Now in its 100th year, Chinchpokli Chinatamani saw humble beginnings in 1923 with a small idol, which kept increasing in size along with its popularity. Around the same time, Ganesh Galli also started celebrations, but only soared to popularity in the year 2000 with a 40-foot idol. Tejukaya mandal was established in the 1950s. Its idol’s distinctive feature is the large ears.

Chinchpoklicha Chintamani. Chintamani means the removal of all worries. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

The Ganesh Galli Ganpati or Mumbaicha Raja. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

The large ears of the Ganesh idol are a distictive feature of the Tejukaya Ganpati. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

With the pandal as grand and elaborate as the idol, Fortcha Ichhapurti Raja is bound to leave you mesmerised. Its unique themes over the years range from Rajasthan heritage to World Ganpati to Pandharpur. This year, the pandal was designed to display the Ramayana and its teachings.

Fortcha Ichhapurti Ganpati. (Express photo by Srishti Kapoor)

Ganpati themes with a difference

Apart from the famous and grand pandals, were Ganpati celebrations at homes and colonies which bore interesting themes. On of them was the Thorave family’s Ganpati pandal at their residence, which aimed to bring the government’s attention to the loss of lives and property due to landslides every monsoon.

The Thorave family’s Ganpati in Chembur. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

The message of environmental conservation was also seen at the Rokare family’s Ganpati in Sion’s Pratiksha Nagar, with focus on working for cleaner beaches and oceans.

Rokare family’s Ganpati in Pratiksha Nagar. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

Another pandal at a Dadar residence celebrated the success of Chandrayaan-3.

Chandrayaan themed Ganpati in Dadar. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

While a pandal by artist Kavita Patil displayed the famous BIT Chawl, another was set in the backdrop of the famous pilgrimage Kedarnath. Yet another pandal in Navi Mumbai was made completely of straws.

Artist Kavita Patil’s pandal showing BIT chawl. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

A pandal set in the backdrop of Kedarnath. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

An idol in Koparkhairane made of straws. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)

While one artist created a chocolate bappa, another made a Vande-Bharat themed pandal for the elephant-headed God. Rahul Varia, 26, created another such unique display at his Ghatkopar home, showing Bappa seated comfortably in a miniature metro rail coach made from newspaper, sunboard and paper straws. Varia, who has been creating decorations for the festival since 2012, built a display based on the local trains of Mumbai in 2021 and a miniature of a BEST double-decker bus last year, according to PTI. Meanwhile, the ever stylish Police Bappa carried the message ‘Say No to Drugs’.

Rintu Rathod’s chocolate Bappa. (PTI)

Lord Ganesha sits in a pandal themed on the Vande Bharat trains. (PTI)

Mumbai Police’s bappa. (PTI)

Politicians welcome bappa and colleagues into their homes

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed bappa into their homes. Fadnavis said the blessings of the Lord are with “Mahayuti” (grand alliance led by BJP). Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, however, remained away from Mumbai, visiting only a few pandals in Pune. Take a look:

गजवदना तू सुखकर्ता
गजवदना तू दु:खहर्ता
मोरया!🙏🏻

📍वर्षा निवासस्थान, मुंबई pic.twitter.com/t9l6d3klFd

— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) September 19, 2023

10.30 am | 25-9-2023 📍 Sagar Bunglow, Mumbai | स. १०.३० वा. 📍 सागर बंगला, मुंबई

जय देव जय देव जय मंगलमूर्ती…
आज सकाळची आरती…#Ganeshotsav2023 #Ganeshotsav #रिद्धिसिद्धि #श्रीगणेश #ganeshfestival #GanpatiBappaMorya #पर्यावरणपूरकगणेशोत्सव #Bappa #गणपतीबाप्पामोरया… pic.twitter.com/KFCIlSMmt6

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) September 25, 2023

Many political leaders made a beeline to the Lalbaugcha Raja, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री मा.श्री. @AmitShah जी यांनी आज मुंबईतील प्रसिद्ध #लालबागचा_राजा सार्वजनिक गणेशोत्सव मंडळाला सपत्नीक भेट देऊन श्री गणरायाचे मनोभावे दर्शन घेतले.

याप्रसंगी उपमुख्यमंत्री @Dev_Fadnavis, मंत्री @dvkesarkar, मंत्री @MPLodha, खासदार @manoj_kotak, खासदार… pic.twitter.com/iKN2d43zrs

— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) September 23, 2023

राजस्थानचे मुख्यमंत्री अशोक गेहलोत यांच्यासह आज लालबागच्या राजाचे दर्शन घेतले. यावेळी मुंबई विभागीय काँग्रेस कमिटीच्या अध्यक्षा आ.प्रा. वर्षाताई गायकवाड, माजी अध्यक्ष आ. भाई जगताप, माजी खासदार संजय निरूपम आदी नेते देखील उपस्थित होते. pic.twitter.com/02Ujpr1wwI

— Ashok Chavan (@AshokChavanINC) September 19, 2023

Shah also visited Shinde and Fadnavis’ official residence, while MNS chief Raj Thackeray and the CM offered prayers at the pandals set up at each others residences.

महाराष्ट्र नवनिर्माण सेना अध्यक्ष श्री.@RajThackeray यांच्या दादर येथील ‘शिवतीर्थ’ या निवासस्थानी उपस्थित राहून त्यांच्या घरी विराजमान झालेल्या श्री गणरायाचे मनोभावे दर्शन घेतले.

यावेळी श्री.राज ठाकरे यांच्या पत्नी सौ.शर्मिला राज ठाकरे, त्यांचे सुपुत्र अमित राज ठाकरे, मनसे नेते… pic.twitter.com/O0Sct9aIKb

— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) September 20, 2023

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi visited not just the Lalbaugcha Raja, but also the GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati and Ganesh Galli, apart from other pandals. Their son Aaditya, meanwhile, was seen participating in bhajans during his Konkan tour.

पक्षप्रमुख उद्धवसाहेब ठाकरे ह्यांनी आज सौ. रश्मी वहिनी ठाकरे ह्यांच्यासह किंग सर्कल येथील जीएसबी मंडळाच्या श्री गणेशाचे दर्शन घेतले.@GSBSevaMandal pic.twitter.com/e4MgQEkvfK

— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) September 21, 2023

तुझ्या भक्तीत दंग,
चढू दे भजनास रंग! pic.twitter.com/nvHjMgw2Cd

— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) September 21, 2023