Keshavji Naik chawl ganesh mandal, Girgaon

Religious nature and love and admiration for Bal Gangadhar Tilak made the residents of Keshavji Naik's Chawl promptly respond to his call to observe Community festival of Lord Ganesh.

History: Religious nature and love and admiration for Bal Gangadhar Tilak made the residents of Keshavji Naik's Chawl promptly respond to his call to observe Community festival of Lord Ganesh.

Thus, the Ganesh festival at Keshav Naik Chawl began with the initiation of such festivals in Maharashtra in the year 1893 in a rather humble manner.

This festival, which began like a small spring in 1893, progressed and matured over the last century.

It has also witnessed a multitude of social, economical and political changes Residents of KNC celebrated the centenary of this festival in the year 1992.

Help line: Help line is not available as it's a small time mandal with little management system.

Facilities: Prasad and water are provided during the utsav. Contests for children and Bhajan programmes are also organised.

Peak hours: 6pm to 11pm

Security: No special CCTV cameras or metal detectors are installed, as the utsav does not have a queue system. Everyone is free to come and gets easy darshan.

Specialty: Being more than 100 years old, the ganpati is one of the most prestigious in entire Mumbai.

The mandal workers feel that the ganpati festival should not be commercialised and not hyped with unnecessary glamour and noise polluting measures.

The mandal makes eco-friendly shadu idols and follow peaceful measures during Visarjan. Blood donation camps are organised by the mandal and it also works for a institute for handicapped children called, 'pratham'.

How to get there: Best bus nos 66, 69, and 65. Churney Road station is the nearest railway station.

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