ok, so for the first time in eight months i am back on the blogosphere. It is 1045 pm approx and I just landed up in the queue to meet Lalbaghcha Raja, the most famous of the Ganpati mandals in Mumbai.
on my way here, i realised a few humbling things in life. The most queer of them forms the caption of this blogpost… Ganpati season is when mumbai meets. I’ve been in this city of Mumbai about four years now, and i’ve seen this year on year and slowly becoming a part of it..in ganpati season, mumbai turns into one big harmonious community (it always was, but this part of the year…it shows). Everyone has a ganpati bappa at their home or at someone close to their’s home. People visit each other, perhaps more than they do in the diwali season, and they all make merry. Its a feast, with mumbai roaring to the auspiscious chants of “Ganpati bappa Morya”…
i walked about 1/2 an hour from the Lower Parel station to join at the end of the queue, and will spend most of the night here. And there are several ahead of me, waiting it out for the entire night just to worship the God. So the rich and poor all come together here….thats the second realisation over the years, that Ganpati bappa is a great equaliser. Everyone waits to meet him here and greet him, no exceptions 
The third realisation is the economic aspect of the festivity. I am right now standing at perhaps one of the biggest and most famous pandals in mumbai. A newspaper trivia said that there were perhaps more than 1500 pandals in the city itself. All over maharashtra look around, and you’d perhaps see much more of them. So this is seasonal income for the artisans, the florists, the electricians, the security industry and so on and so forth. Let me try and figure out a number from somewhere and add that for your reference here later…but you do realise that by the grace of Ganesha, the resident god of Mumbai, there is a whole festive economy which feeds millions not just that, overnight, there turn up hundreds of roadside food and beverage stalls selling everything from the famour Vada pao to the filling Pav Bhaji to tonnes of other gastronomic delights. All that, to ensure while you are Queing up to meet the Gods, you are tanked up to see through the day.
Seeing the faith in Lord Ganesha, one thing i am convinced with is that India is a land of believers, where faith is not lost. If we could all combine our faith into one big melting pot and concentrate on making ‘India Shining’ well, is a different thought altogether.
Here is three cheers to the spirit of Mumbai…”Ganpati bappa morya, mangal murti morya…agley varshi jaldi aaaaaa”
PS: The ardous task of getting to see the God was fulfilled at about 9 in the morning when I finally got access to the main area right in front of the idol for a minute. It was gigantic, and smilin at you. The wait was worth it…… this post is not capitalised too much or may have spelling errors, but it was posted from my e90 … so excuse the same!
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