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These famous Ganpati pandals of Mumbai paint the city colorful: Prune

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the famous and much-awaited festivals of our country. It brings in a festive fervor, and devotees passionately participate in the celebrations for 10 whole days. While it is celebrated throughout the country, Mumbai tops the chart in making the most out of the Ganpati festivities. The city bustles with sweets, colors, and beautiful artwork in every street. And the lights and sounds from musical instruments played will have you swaying in no time.

This year, the festivities were low-key due to the Covid-related restrictions, but it didn’t stop Mumbai from keeping the energy intact. Despite few pandals being allowed to set up, the energy and excitement for the festival were evident while strictly following social distancing norms. Some even organized online darshan for the devotees to prevent overcrowding.

And as the Ganesh festivities are coming to an end, let's look back at the pandals that took part this year amid the pandemic, and painted the city of dreams colorful. 

Lalbaugcha Raja 

It is the popular Ganpati pandal and one of the major attractions in Mumbai. Here resides a 15 feet tall idol of Lord Ganesha, and thousands of people come to visit and offer their prayers. The pandal also receives media attention as it is often frequented by celebrities of Bollywood as well. The Lalbaugcha Raja pandal was founded in 1934 and used to be home to big idols of Lord Ganesha that used to range from 15 to 20 feet in size. As of now, keeping the government guidelines in mind, the organizers have set up a 4 feet idol with a theme called Majha Ganeshotsav, Majhi Javabdari (my Ganeshotsav, my responsibility) for this year. And to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the authorities imposed restrictions on the pandal and prohibited a gathering of people except for the priests. All the devotees performed prayers virtually. 

GSB Seva Mandal Ganpati

It is known as Mumbai’s richest pandal. The Ganesh puja is performed here round the clock during the entire festival. The Ganesh idol is heavily adorned with gold and silver jewelry, which makes it a spectacular sight for thousands of devotees and general viewers. GSB Seva Mandal is a nonprofit organization, and it was established in 1951. Since then, they have been performing rituals and celebrating the festival of Ganesha with great vigor. This year, they organized a 5-day program while keeping Covid-19 appropriate behavior in place. 

Andhericha Raja

The beauty of this pandal will leave you mesmerized. The life-sized idol of Ganesha, music, lighting, and food make for a grand festive affair during the season of Ganesh Chaturthi. Many worshippers visit this 54-year old pandal where the Ganpati is known to fulfill wishes and grant blessings. The idol here used to be known as ‘Navasala Pavnara Ganpati’ (wish-fulfilling Ganesha) and later known as ‘Andhericha Raja’ (king of Mumbai). It is yet another pandal that attracts large crowds, including Bollywood celebrities. 

Mumbai cha Raja

The Mumbaicha Raja in Ganesh Galli is yet another popular pandal that is seeing low-key rituals during this festive season. The pandal comes up with new themes every year, and usually represents a famous place in the country. But this year, all pandals have limitations on the size of the Ganpati idol and rituals should be performed within limitations. However, these famous mandals are providing online prasad and darshan to their devotees. The aarti before the visarjan also took place online for the devotees who could not physically join the grand procession. 

Girgaoncha Raja

This pandal also has one of the huge idols of Lord Ganesha and is made out of eco-friendly materials such as grass and clay. It is a much-needed example of a green movement that needs to be applied to all idols in the city. Usually, the idols are made out of toxic chemicals that pollute the water bodies, especially during the ritual of visarjan.