Ganeshotsav 2026: South Mumbai's changing skyline reshapes Ganpati celebrations; residents feel the void

Mumbais Ganeshotsav has always been about more than the idols In the older areas of South Mumbai it was about the community the lanes and the buildings that brought generations togetherIn Girgaon Kalbadevi Bhuleshwar and parts of Byculla Ganpati celebrations once spilled out of chawls and into narrow lanes Doors remained open children moved freely between homes and the local mandals were often the meeting point for an entire neighbourhoodThat Mumbai is changingOld chawls are giving way to redevelopment projects and highrises While the new buildings offer better homes and facilities many residents feel that something less tangible has been lost mdash the closeness that once defined their neighbourhoodsldquoEarlier everyone knew each other During Ganeshotsav you didnt have to call people for the celebrations They were already downstairsrdquo said 82yearold South Mumbai homemaker Yashwanti MFrom shared chawl spaces to highrise livingIn Girgaon where Ganeshotsav has long been closely woven into the fabric of chawl life the festival was as much about community as it was about devotion Yashwanti saidldquoGaneshotsav in Girgaon was never just about bringing the idol home The entire chawl would come together mdash from putting up the decoration to organising the aarti and visarjan Today redevelopment has changed the way people live and naturally that has changed how people come together toordquo Yashwanti addedThe difference is particularly noticeable during Ganeshotsav In a chawl residents shared corridors courtyards and common spaces The festival naturally became a collective affair In a highrise hundreds of people may live in the same building without necessarily knowing each otherldquoNow you can live in the same building for years and barely know your neighbour Earlier the whole building was like one familyrdquo said 39yearold Girgaon resident Milind Vanarse who works as a manager in a private companyA changing skyline a changing festivalRedevelopment has also changed the physical backdrop of GaneshotsavFor older residents the familiar buildings around a mandal are part of the memory A particular balcony shop or lane may bring back memories of childhood celebrationsldquoSometimes I look at the new buildings and think where is the Mumbai I grew up inrdquo said Vanarse a resident who has spent decades in the area ldquoThe Ganpati festival is the same but everything around it has changedrdquoThe impact is also visible in Lalbaug one of the citys most recognisable Ganeshotsav hubs where generations of residents have grown up alongside some of Mumbais most famous mandalsldquoLalbaug has changed enormously but the Ganpati festival still gives people a reason to come together The challenge is that the old neighbourhood spaces are disappearing When people dont have those everyday spaces to meet the festival has to work harder to bring the community togetherrdquo said a 45yearold Lalbaug mandal organiser who did not wish to be namedThe festival itself however has not lost its popularity If anything Mumbais larger mandals have become bigger attractions drawing visitors from across the city But the growing focus on the cityrsquos famous Ganpatis and elaborate decorations has also changed the nature of the celebrationldquoEarlier our Ganpati was the event Now people want to visit five or six famous mandals The local festival has become smaller in comparisonrdquo said 39yearold Abhishek Tondankar treasurer of the 5th Kumbharwada Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal in GirgaonYet perhaps this is simply another phase in Mumbais long relationship with GaneshotsavThe city has changed before and the festival has changed with it The challenge today is not to stop redevelopment but to ensure that the communities that give the festival its meaning do not disappear with the old buildingsldquoBuildings can be redeveloped but the community has to be rebuilt toordquo said TondankarThe real void is not the absence of GanpatiThat may be the real void emerging in South Mumbai It is not the absence of Ganpati nor the absence of celebrationIt is the gradual disappearance of the shared spaces and everyday relationships that once made Ganeshotsav feel like a celebration of one large familyThe skyline may be getting taller But for many Mumbaikars the city around Ganpati is no longer quite as closeknit as it once was