Ganeshotsav 2023: Khetwadi residents welcome Ganesha idol in Lord Balaji form

Ahead of the Ganeshotsav festival, the residents of 8th lane Khetwadi welcomed a 35-foot tall lord Ganesh idol which looks like Lord Vishu of Tirupati Balaji temple, in their bylane on Saturday

Ahead of the Ganeshotsav festival, the residents of 8th lane Khetwadi welcomed a 35-foot tall lord Ganesh idol which looks like Lord Vishu of Tirupati Balaji temple, in their bylane on Saturday.

According to the members of the mandal, they have been choosing different god and goddess themes every year to shape their Lord Ganapati idol, in order to celebrate the festival.

While this year, the mandal preferred to go with the theme of lord Vishu, earlier, in the past, they chose themes like lord Hanuman, and goddess Vinayaki Devi (female version of lord Ganesha).

Nilesh Shridhankar, secretary of Khetwadi 8th lane Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, said, "Except during Covid, we have maintained the height of lord Ganesha idol to be 35-feet. This is the 60th year (Diamond Jubilee Year) of our mandal. We are bringing a 35-foot tall lord Ganesha Idol in the form of Tirupati Balaji. We are also making a South Indian Temple theme which will have a huge entrance of about 45-foot height."

Speaking about the immersion process, Shridhankar added, "This year during the visarjan (immersion process) the mandal members will be wearing South Indian-style attire. The decor of the pandal and other immersion are completely based on the theme we have chosen this year of the lord Ganesha idol."

Mumbai is gearing up to celebrate the 10-day Ganpati festival, which begins on September 19. Various markets in Mumbai are flooded with idols and decor items.

As only few days are left of the festival to begin, community mandals across Mumbai are welcoming the lord Ganesha idol to their pandals by taking out processions.

Besides this, as this year marks the 350th anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation, three of the major Ganpati mandals in Mumbai - Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbaicha Raja and Andhericha Raja — are replicating Raigad Fort.

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