The festive fervour at the Mount Mary Fair, which begins tomorrow, has reached a crescendo. People thronging the fair were willingly prepared for the long wait for the bus.
Families like that of Bharat Pawar didn’t mind the long queue. The Pawar's who have been visiting the Basilica of Mount Mary for over 10 years, they wanted to be there this time too.
"I thought tomorrow was the last day. It is good that I am early. We had made wishes earlier which were fulfilled, so we made a point of coming here," said Pawar, who had come from Kandivali. Though a day prior to the feast, Saturday still saw a large number of people, like Pawars, come to visit the Basilica.
The inflow led to choking of roads towards Mount Mary even though special bus services and the crowd in full flow was yet to come. Celebrated on the first Sunday after Mother Mary's birthday on September 8, the eight days of the festival sees crowds of all ages and faiths come to pray.
Devotees offer wax figures of houses, legs, and cars among others to have their dream of the same fulfilled or relief from a particular ailment. "This time too, I will offer some wax figures for my wish to be fulfilled.I go to all religious places. Just the day before, I was at a Ganpati stall," said Rekha Solanki, a resident of Virar.
Stalls selling wax figures, Bengal sweets, East Indian delicacies, East Indian music and movies, clothes and even games dot the way to the Basilica from the two approaches devotees take to reach the venue. "We are still settingup our stall. By tomorrow morning, it will beup and running. We are selling clothes, sweets and are hopefulthatthe business will be good this year," said Mohammed Shami,the owner of a stall close to Mount Mary steps.
Though the stalls were put up for auction, they did not have many bidders. Also there were unsubstantiated whispers of malpractices where allocating stalls are concerned. Two people who did not wish to be named have alleged that many stalls sold by the BMC were resold at a higher price of nearly Rs 50,000 for a 4X4 square feet stall.
Similar practices are alleged at the steps of Mount Mary where the Church allows stalls to come up on its premises leading to the Basilica.
"Some BMC stalls were resold for nearly Rs 4 lakhs," claimed another person. She said that the BMC's arrangement of giving away stalls this year was chaotic. However, recovering the cost was paramount in the minds of stall owners. "We have spent close to Rs 50,000 andhope that we can make good money," said Abul Hassan, a stall owner.
On the steps, devotees could be seen taking pictures before the Christ statue on the way to the Basilica. "The crowd is nearly 20 per cent more than what we would see any day before the feast. It is likely to be more tomorrow," said Bishop John Rodrigues, Rector of the Basilica.
The Basilica has put up a shamiana where around 1,500 can be seated at any given time, over and above over 100 inside the Basilica. "We are putting a screen where hymns will also be shown. A special mass will be relayed for the Divyangjans who cannot come to the Basilica," said Rodrigues. Devotees were instructed not to click selfies inside the Basilica.
Families outside made sure to take one with the backdrop of the Basilica. "We have been coming here ever since I remember. Earlier we were staying at Mahim but now we are in Vasai," said Deepankar Ghosh who had come with his family from Thane.
"Our wishes for childrenhavebeen fulfilled, sohasmymother's legproblem resolved. Hence we make it a point to come," said Ghosh's wife.
