Mumbai Ganeshotsav: Girgaon Ganpati mandals revive community service with books, education and heritage

Mumbairsquos Ganeshotsav has grown so big that the size of the idol grandeur of the pandal length of the queue and number of devotees can sometimes seem to matter more than the reason sarvajanik Ganeshotsav was brought into the public sphere in the first placeBetween towering decorations celebrity appearances elaborate lighting social media coverage and the scramble for darshan the humble idea of a public festival risks getting buried under the spectacle But in the narrow lanes of Girgaon some small mandals are offering a reminder Ganpati does not have to be grand to be meaningfulBags filled with notebooks and water bottles donated to students last year PicBy Special Arrangementpopcorn number550 descNo of books donated to Adivasi students in the Konkan region last year classDefaultAn offering beyond flowers and sweetsFor mandals such as Fulancha Raja and Keshavji Naik Chawl Ganeshotsav remains a platform for community service education and social responsibility rather than a competition for the biggest idol or most elaborate pandal At Fulancha Raja devotees are encouraged to donate books and stationery instead of conventional offerings such as flowers and sweetsKeshavji Naik Chawl distributed computers to a rural school for a computer lab PicBy Special ArrangementldquoIt is a deceptively simple change A garland will fade A box of sweets will disappear But a notebook textbook pencil or other educational material can uplift someone out of poverty encourage education and help in having a better future for someonerdquo said Srikant Malkar vicepresident of Gaodevi and JK Building Sarvajanik Shree Ganeshotsav Mandalpopcorn number13 descNo of years mandal has been running the initiative classDefaultWhen vargani goes beyond the pandalAt historic Keshavji Naik Chawl where Ganeshotsav has been celebrated since 1893 the celebration remains modest in scale but extends beyond the 10day festival The mandal is associated with the early public Ganeshotsav movement and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilakrsquos visit to the chawl in 1901Srikant Malkar VP Gaodevi and JK Building Sarvajanik ShreeldquoThe vargani collected for the festival does not simply disappear into ten days of decoration and celebration We conduct medical camps and have used the amount collected as vargani mdash donations from families living in the chawl mdash for educational initiatives including helping establish laboratories at rural schools In other words our festive celebration does not end with visarjanrdquo said Harshad Shirsat a member of the Keshavji Naik Chawlrsquos mandalA history lesson in a pandalAt Amrutcha Raja the pandal itself becomes a lesson in Girgaonrsquos past Instead of filling the space with an extravagant backdrop the mandal has created a miniature Girgaon recreating its chawls lanes architecture and community life while showing how the neighbourhood has changed For older residents it offers nostalgia For younger visitors particularly Gen Z and Gen Alpha it is intended as a crash course in the character of their own neighbourhoodPandurang Bagkar vicepresident of Gaodevi and JK Building Sarvajanik Shree Ganeshotsav MandalldquoA child who has grown up seeing Girgaon through redeveloped buildings and contemporary city life can walk into the pandal and see how the neighbourhood once looked how its communities lived close to one another and how common spaces became the centre of social and cultural liferdquo said Mayuresh Arte the concept designer behind the installationThe miniature Girgaon installation at the Ganeshotsav pandalDonated items to be increasedThis year the mandal plans to increase the number of books and other educational materials donated ldquoToday Ganeshotsav is increasingly becoming about how attractive your pandal is how big your idol is and how many people you can bringBooks donated to Adivasi students by Fulancha Raja mandal PicBy Special ArrangementWe want to remind devotees that an offering does not have to end at Bapparsquos feet If that offering can reach a child who needs a book or stationery that is a much more meaningful celebration for usrdquo said Pandurang Bagkar another vicepresident of Gaodevi and JK Building Sarvajanik Shree Ganeshotsav MandalFrom chawls to the cityThe miniature recreates the distinctive character of Girgaonrsquos chawl life including the different colours and identities of homes within the same building It also depicts festivals such as Ganeshotsav DahiHandi Gudhi Padwa Christmas and SankrantiMayuresh Arte concept designer of the miniature Girgaon installationldquoWhile we were brainstorming we realised that the newer generation barely knows about the actual character of Girgaon While we have also shown how the area has developed and adapted to modern infrastructure we wanted to show from where we began especially because this is the first year that we are celebrating Ganeshotsav in our new redeveloped buildingrdquo said Arte