Sharing: GANESH PANDAL HOPPING

Ganesha!

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Pudchya Varshi Laukarya!

Today being Ganesh Visarjan, I bring you pictures of Lord Ganesha from the different pandals - Sion & Matunga - that I visited this year.

This is my neighbour Ganesh's Ganpati. They keep the Lord for five days. The backdrop has been designed by his wife Shalakha, She has also made the flowers in the arch. Lovely, isn't it!

Vigneshwara!

This idol was at Joglekar Wadi next to our building. This pandal is maintained by South Indians and as you can see the Murti is designed accordingly.

Devadeva!

I found this Murti at a pandal outside Hotel Ashray International, Sion West. I think this was probably started recently as I have never seen a pandal in this area before.

Ekadanta!

I found this idol of Lord Ganesha at Mira Mansion, Sion West. The blue colour is for Lord Vishnu and the leopard robes denote Lord Shiva. Ganesha in the combination of Shiva & Vishnu is what I understood. A few kids were in charge here. One little girl of probably 10 years, gave me prasad and thanked me very sweetly for visiting their pandal. I was impressed!

Gajanana!

This Murti was at Indira Market, Sion West. You can see the Lord sitting atop an trumpeting elephant. Doesn't he look majestic?

Gadadhara!

I found this idol of Lord Ganpati near the gates of Mira Mansion in Sion West. It was on the footpath and taken care of by a poor old man.

Lambodara!

This Murti of Lord Ganesha had been installed at a pandal organised by Sion Cricket Club on Road No. 3, Sion East.

Mooshikavahana!

This Grand Lord is environmental friendly. This pandal at Prem Sagar Society has received awards from Times of India, many times over.

Omkara!

This Supreme Lord had been installed at a pandal opposite Asthika Samaj in Matunga. It was so crowded that even I don't quite know how I managed to get a picture without people in it. I just have to thank the Lord for that.

Shoorpakarna!

This Tamil Lord was located at the car park outside Matunga Station. I think this pandal is maintained by the famous or notorious (as one sees fit) Varadaraja Mudaliar's family.

Lalbaugcha Raja (Pic courtesy: Jeetu Gursingh)

I have been to see Lalbaugcha Raja just once in my life and that was very many years ago. A friend gave me this picture when I requested him. Jeetu visits this pandal every year along with his family. Don't miss the crowd at 5.30 am. Amazing!

Festival: KALA GHODA ART FESTIVAL FEB 2010

Painting of Lady Diana by Helmut Zwerger

The Kala Ghoda Festival has been happening since so many years. But this was the first time I could go to see one.

It was a visual grandeur, no less. Stretching from West View to Mumbai Port, the area of Kala Ghoda was colourfully lit and decorated with gorgeous stuff that one has to see to visualise. The fest brings to the public a glimpse of Indian art and culture at one venue.

One end had on display a number of prize-winning entries of photographs by many photographers. Some of the displays were just amazing. Then there was the installation of Revathi Sharma that was dedicated to the army, navy and air-force. I never could relate much to installations, but this was truly excellent.

As we moved further, we came across many stalls on both sides selling wares from around the country. There were Madhubani paintings, curios and other items made of papier mache, cloth bags, bags made of reed, pottery, glazed pottery, kurtis, Punjabi suit materials, saris from different regions, scarves made of silk, hand made paper, art materials, lamp shades made of various materials, wall hangings, home décor and more. While these made for colourful and artistic displays, they were just priced at too exorbitant a cost. They may be suitable for purchase by foreigners or compulsive shopaholics.

In the middle of the fest is placed a dais where cultural programmes happen every day. The day my daughter and I landed there, there was a Bharatnatyam performance going on. We could not see anything as the area was too crowded but the song that we heard was beautiful and added a lot to the gala atmosphere.

The vibrant colours and sounds special to our culture are brought out at the festival and I believe that these are necessary not just for the tourists from other places but also for us. We get to see so much of what our culture has in store.

We also went to Jehangir Art Gallery that was holding ‘Myriad Moods’ a display of paintings by Helmut Zwerger from Austria. I believe three of his paintings had been to space - a piece of information that I heard from the promoters. I did not find it too impressive as it made me wonder what the big deal was about. I can relate to a monkey being sent to space as it is a living thing and gives us hope that living beings can survive out there. But paintings??? Anyways, that was their USP while promoting the artist’s works. I have no comments to offer about his works as I am no art connoisseur, but I did not particularly enjoy the show.

Towards the end, we stopped at the stalls offering food brought to the fest by the local restaurants – Joss, Noodle Bar, Bombay Blue, Chetana, Copper Chimney and Gelato Italiano. We shared a delicious Balinese veg curry and steamed rice from Joss and a undhiyu-puri combo from Chetana and called it a day.

All in all, the Kala Ghoda Festival is an experience of a lifetime. Congratulations to the Times of India for pulling it off.