Pandal Hopping!!!

The ten day Ganesh Utsav that is celebrated in Mumbai is one festival that I enjoy the most. During the ten days the city is transformed and every person seems to have a spring in his/ her step and "Ganpati baghayla chala/ Ganpati dekhne chalein" is the catch phrase on every ones lips. As a rule I try and see as many idols of Lord Ganesh as possible and if all else fails, on the last day you'll find me standing on the footpath along the route taken by the Ganpatis on their journey to the sea for immersions. As kids, my friends and I would stand on the footpath and watch the huge idols as they slowly made their way towards the sea. We would keep count of the number of idols we saw and then brag about it for days thereafter to the others who did not come with us.

Every year I just have to see the below three Ganpatis as they hold a special place in my heart and my social calendar can never be complete without a visit to see them. I must mention here that I've been visiting the below three Ganpatis since the time in the very, very, distant past when I wore short frocks.

Mhatarpada, Amboli

The Mhatarpada, Amboli Ganpati and I go back a long time; this Ganpati and the below Shiv Sena Shaka Ganpati are housed in  the lanes on the route we took to school, so everyday after school us kids would go pay a visit to the elephant god, not so much out of  devotion, as for the prasad of sugar cubes and peanuts that was distributed to all!!!

Shiv Sena Shaka, Amboli

I loved going to this mandal as they had the most innovative pandal designs, usually they would create a cave and devotees has to walk on stepping stones that were placed in a make shift stream. The streams would be complete with live fish!!! 

Andhericha Raja, Azad Nagar

The Andhericha Raja (Andheri is the part of Mumbai I call home and for my international audience, I'll clarify that Andhericha Raja means 'King of Andheri'. Truth be told the Ganesh Idols at this mandal always have the most mesmerising eyes, see pic below). Every year they create a replica of some famous temple and this year they have created a replica of the Dilwara Jain Temple, Mount Abu and to say it is breath taking is an understatement. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. Ganpati Bappa Morya!!!