After the two-year Covid hiatus, Girgaon Chowpatty on Thursday once again witnessed the cheerful and somewhat teary immersion of Ganesh idols. The first in a series of upcoming immersions was mostly of household Ganpatis like the one belonging to Sewri resident Dhiresh Chauhan.
“It has been 30 years since we got Ganpati at our home. For the last two years, there were restrictions so it felt nice to come again this year,” he said.
Bidding adieu to Bappa, Chauhan and his family further said that now there will be sadness and the absence of the Lord will be felt at home. A few metres away Neha Jain was shooting the video as the lifeguard immersed Ganesh idol belonging to her neighbours.
Devotees blew coonch, did aartis and prayed Bappa to return earlier the next year, while the lifeguards kept a hawk's eye from watch towers. They blew whistles if people went too deep in the sea. The excited devotees waved at the helicopter as it flew past.
Thrusting eco-friendly celebrations, Peddar Road resident Pradnya Patil said, “We had two Ganpatis. Every year we have one Ganpati of the Navas (wish fulfilling) and another one. Both are ecofriendly. It was nice to come here after two years to relive the tradition.” It's Pradnya's family tradition of nearly 50 years to immerse Ganesh idols in Chowpatty.
Similarly, Naresh Dahibhaukar has vowed to immerse his Ganesh idol in an artificial pond. “In our house, we have Ganpati made of banana and paper. It is made by the maker of Vile Parle's Peshwa. Every time people would ask why not an eco-friendly celebration so this time I am doing it.” Made from paper and banana, Vile Parle's Peshwa idol is 21-foot tall.
In 2017, Girgaon Ganpati was taller by one foot and made of shadu mati or natural clay. The 38foot-tall Mumbaicha Maharaja, installed at Khetwadi Galli no 11, is the tallest PoP idol this year.
“Since our idol is made of shadu mati, we didn't feel that we are damaging the environment by immersing it in a natural water body,” said Falguni Shah-Agarwal, who will be distributing the decoration of Lord Ganesha's throne made of glass to friends and relatives.
The crowd seems to be as it used to be before COVID. As the day passes, the numbers will increase drastically, said a lifeguard waiting to immerse a devotee's idol after pooja.
