MUMBAI, INDIA, September 6, 2005: Around 8,000 Ganesh mandals (temporary temples set up on the side of, or in, the street) have been decorated and lit up across the city to welcome the Elephant God. Decorations at most big mandals are theme-based and themes vary from the religious to the glamorous. The Tejukaya Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava Trust, Lalbaug, extols the greatness of Lord Ram and Lord Ganesh. The scene shows how Hanuman could not build a bridge to reach Lanka till he wrote Shri Ram on a stone and placed it near Ganesha’s feet. “This is to show what wonders devotion can do for us,” said Santosh Chavan, secretary of the mandal. The Kohinoor Mills Compound at Naigoan is bringing South Africa’s famous Sun City to Mumbai with an elaborate set that recreates the scenic beauty of the place. Similarly, the Spring Mills Compound at Naigaum, which has in the past created replicas of religious places like Vithal Rakhumai temple in Pandharpur and Tirupati, is recreating Amarnath temple. President of the mandal Bhau Ambre said, “We Mumbaikars have just heard of these great places, but few of us have actually visited them. Our mandal makes it a point to ensure that devotees really get the feel of the place when they visit our pandal.” The Kalachowki Sarvajanik Ganeshotsava mandal, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, has created caves through which devotees visiting the pandal will have to pass through to see the Ganesh icon. The icon that belongs to the GSBS Sarvajanik Mandal in Matunga is decorated with gold ornaments. The crown weighs 22 kgs, the ears, decorated with gold, weigh four kgs and the gold modak near the icon is 1.5 kgs. Here more than 20,000 people conduct various pujas and approximately 10,000 people are fed daily. The Mandal contributes a substantial amount of donations for social and educational activities. According to Jt. Convener Dinesh Pai, “The whole atmosphere is filled with devotion and sanctity of the ceremony is maintained.” As Prasad, the devotees are offered coconuts, apples and oranges along with sweet delicacies.
FACT SHEET
Approximate number of Ganesha mandals: 8,000
Number of icons that are 15 feet high: 200
Cost of icons 15 feet and larger: US$1,100 and up
Total number of icons brought to the city: 200,000
Collections at small mandals: $1,100 to $2,200
Collections at big mandals: $45,000 to $113,000
Approximate quantity of sweets prepared in city for the ten-day festival: 40 tons
Approximate quantity of flowers supplied to the city during the festival: 60 tons