Mumbai: One of the richest sarvajanik Ganapati of the Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Seva Mandal, Ram Mandir Wadala, which sees thousands of devotees visiting the marquee to see their gold and the precious stone-studded idol is donned in silk dhoti and shela (traditional cloths) every day. These dhotis are specially brought from Banaras, Madurai and other places. Later, it is auctioned on the last day of Visarjan.
Subhas Pai, convenor public relations of this Mandal said, "Apart from gold Jewellery even the dhotis offered to the Ganpati are popular. During the last day of Visarjan, the dhotis are auctioned and a lot of devotees bid for it. The dhotis are usually sold at a minimum price of Rs 25,000 in the auction. However, last year since two devotees wanted to buy the same dhoti, the closing price was in lakhs. That particular dhoti was sold for Rs 3.5 lakh and it was the highest amount the Mandal received ever. This time too, we are hoping the auction would attract a lot of bidders."
The dhoti-shela once auctioned is usually used by the devotees for their household pujas, Pai informed. Unlike other sarvajanik Ganesh mandals, the GSB Ganpati stands out as unique because 500 different Aarti (prayer) is performed. Interestingly, the Mandal also serves food whole day to at least 10,000 devotees daily during Ganeshotsav.
