78 Incarnations Of India's Most Famous Ganapati, Mumbai's Lalbaugcha Raja
This year Mumbais most famous Ganapati Lalbaughcha Raja will enter its 81st year. The 12-ft-tall idol is visited by crores of devotees each year. Over 15 million people visit this Ganesh Pandal daily during the 10 day Ganesha festival.
This year, Mumbai's most famous Ganapati, Lalbaughcha Raja will enter its 81st year. The 12-ft-tall idol is visited by crores of devotees each year. The idol sits on a throne, cladded in a yellow dhoti with a bright red sash across his shoulders was very different 80 years ago. Lalbaughcha Raja was shown as the avatars of Lord Rama, Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna. It was also given the face of Mahatma Gandhi during a year after the independence. The famous ganesh murti has undergone great variations over the past 80 years. Here are some rare pictures of its evolution.
The first Ganesh idol by Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal in Lalbaugh was incepted in 1934.The Lalbaug Ganapati is also known as 'the wish-fulfilling' Ganesha. It was artist M.D. Kambli who sculpted the initial idols. Kambli Arts makes the parts of the Lalbaugcha Raja idol at its workshop, and these are then taken to the pandal, where they are assembled and painted. Ratnakar Kambli, who is 73 years old, goes to the pandal and draws the eyes at the height of 20 ft.The most attractive part of the idol are its eyes, as it seems like Ganesha is looking at the devotees from any angle.
The idol is so famous, that over 1.5 million people visit this Ganesh Pandal daily during the 10 day Ganesha festival.There are two queues for taking blessings of the Lalbaugcha Raja - Navsachi Line and Mukh Darshanachi Line. Devotees wait in queue for hours just to get a glimpse of Lord Ganesh.Navsachi line attracts huge crowd and it takes around 25 ¨C 30 and sometimes up to 40 hours to get darshan through this line. Around 300-400 employees of the mandal organize this mega event every year.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
All images courtesy: Praveen Basa/Facebook
78.
Neha is a keen observer of human behaviour and a devout Tina Fey worshipper. She is a good listener and will gladly listen to all your rants and raves. This job has made her shift base from the far-flung suburbs to town, and she is therefore now adapting to a new lifestyle (which is a sweet coincidence as she manages the lifestyle section at indiatimes) She is a TV fanatic and has watched most of your TV shows well in advance. Neha¡¯s favourite shows include ¡®Mad Men¡¯, ¡®Dexter¡¯, ¡®Game of Thrones¡¯ and everything between. Her newfound passion is running and thinks that a good 30-minute-run is the ultimate key to happiness. Also, loves the sound ¡®hmm¡¯ a lot..
Read More
