Every year craftsmen and mumbaikars in mumbai(irrespective of cast and creed) work towards setting the most creative pandals(stage) and beautifully crafted lord ganesha idols. As you go about visiting each and every pandal, you will find a differently crafted idol of lord ganesha, no two idols or the stage will be the same. Every pandal picks up a portion from the mythology and depicts it in their own creative way. Just walk through one of the lanes and you will be graced with n number of pandals. In mumbai, every year there are more then 500 pandals set up. There is a history behind every pandal but on a generic level as one of the elders i met told me, "during the British Raj political leaders wanted to hold meeting secretly and one of the way they found out was to set up a pandal and have a huge celebration on the lords birthday, this would attract innumerable crowd and the Britishers won't have an idea". I don't know how true is that :) but i know one thing that is true and that is, "ganesh chaturti" in mumbai is a celebration of humanity. It gets people from all age groups, irrespective of cast and creed, together with a feeling of oneness and love to dance to the tune of one of the most adorable lords in the history of india mythology. When his procession starts with the beating of the dhols, each and every nerve pumps out as if the earth has just turned into heaven.
Thank you Lord Ganesha and God bless Mumbai.
Thank you Lord Ganesha and God bless Mumbai.
