The Mandal hoppers

Perhaps one of the best times of the year when the entire city steps out of their houses to take a walk around their neighbourhood and the city is during the Ganesh Chaturthi.

Perhaps one of the best times of the year when the entire city steps out of their houses to take a walk around their neighbourhood and the city is during the Ganesh Chaturthi. The ten-day festival,sees mandals both small and big spring up virtually on every nook and corner of the streets. While it is physically impossible to cover each and every part of the city,given that there are so many of these mandals,we chose to concentrate on the suburb of Camp.

Walking through Synagogue Street,which eventually opens up on Bootee Street,we first came across the Shiv Tej Mitra Mandal. A small structure on the side of the road near the equally famous Garden Wada Pav centre,the mandal was a no frills,bare bones affair. Although we were left amazed when one of the workers at the Mandal informed us that the idol of Lord Ganesha was decorated with 0.52 Kg gold worth Rs 15 Lakhs.

Barely a 100 metres ahead was the Papa Vastad Gawli Talim Mandal. Having a 96-year-old tradition,the mandal has been known to showcase themes relevant to national integration and social causes. The theme was India-China relationship. Right from images of the Indo-China war of ’62 to the current status of the dispute between the borders it was all displayed there. While one side showcased how China had militarised its forces along their side of the border,the other displayed the might of the Indian armed forces.

The regular blaring music systems playing jarringly heavy music,which has become a norm of sorts at the festival in recent times,was not to be seen at mandals in this part of the city. All the mandals either had soft devotional songs playing on a loop or the aarti. The pleasant music was a welcome relief from the regular fare that is usually dished out at the mandals these days.

Taking a right turn from Bootee street onto Dastur Meher Road,we came to the 110-year-old Dastur Meher Road Tarun Mandal. Known for sticking to the age-old tradition of having cultural programmes and events for the general community,we saw a music concert on in full swing at the venue. Interestingly it was a concert where the singers chose to perform old Hindi songs and ghazals.

We eventually rounded off our trip with a visit to 93-year-old Sri Krishna Tarun Mandal. Done up in mild tones,the stage in front of the mandal was used as a venue for various programmes that they have conducted over the last one week. Nevertheless the enthusiasm of the crowd did not damp out. Sparse attendance or not,there will always be people who come to see mandals in the city. And this year round was no exception.

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Ganesh Chaturthi

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