Lalbaugcha Raja: 91 Years of Faith, Devotees Flock to Seek Blessings

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu)- Every year when the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi comes, a different vibrancy is seen from the streets of Mumbai to the temples. The resonance of drums and cards, the cheers to welcome Bappa, the decoration of mandals with flowers and the crowd of lakhs of people to see them, all these together make this festival very special.

From children to the elderly, everyone eagerly awaits this event. In such a situation, when it comes to Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, the first name that comes to everyone's tongue is Lalbaugcha Raja Temple. Mumbai's most popular public Ganesh Mandal Lalbaugcha Raja is a symbol of people's faith and belief. This pandal located in Lalbaug Parel area attracts devotees from all over the world every year during Ganesh Chaturthi. Devotees come here not only for darshan, but also from far away places with the hope of fulfilling their wishes. It is believed that whoever prays to Lalbaugcha Raja with a true heart, his every wish is definitely fulfilled. That is why he is also called 'Mannaton Ka Raja'.

Like every year, along with big and famous personalities, thousands and lakhs of devotees are coming here to have darshan of Bappa. This time a 22 feet high idol of Ganapati was installed here, which is inspired by the mythological story of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Siddesh Korgaonkar, Vice President of Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal, said in a conversation, "This is the oldest Ganapati of Lalbaug area. This time his 22 feet high idol has been made." He said that the idol and its decoration depict the theme of Rameswaram, in which Hanumanji brings the pind of Lord Shankar from Rameswaram.

Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal was established in the year 1934. Actually, about nine decades ago, some fishermen and shopkeepers together prayed to Bappa to get a permanent place for the market. When their wish was fulfilled, they installed a small Ganesh idol as a token of gratitude. This tradition started from there and even today, after 91 years, it is being performed with full faith.

There are two main queues for darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja. One is the 'Navasaachi Line', in which people stand who want to go to the feet of Bappa with a special wish. It can take 25 to 40 hours to get darshan in this line. The second line is the "Mukhdarshan Line", in which devotees can see Bappa from a distance. This line is relatively shorter. Sometimes it takes 4 to 5 hours here. Like every year, this year too, tight security arrangements have been made on Ganesh Chaturthi. CCTV cameras have been installed by the Mandal. Thousands of policemen and volunteers have been deployed so that the devotees do not face any kind of inconvenience. All facilities like medical assistance, water and toilets have been made available for the devotees inside the pandal as well.