Lanes of lalbaug is a a 2.5-hour pandal-hopping, farsaan-chomping walk that will acquaint you with the lanes that come to life once a year when Lalbaugcha Raja returns to rule
Lanes of lalbaug is a a 2.5-hour pandal-hopping, farsaan-chomping walk that will acquaint you with the lanes that come to life once a year when Lalbaugcha Raja returns to rule
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The lanes of Lalbaug are the liveliest in the days that the elephant-headed God makes his annual 10-day return. "These lanes tell stories of erstwhile mill workers and tamasha artistes, are home to artisans who make Ganesha idols for the festival, and never cease to draw us with the aroma of their spices and farsaan," says Shriti Tyagi from Beyond Bombay, an organisation that conducts walks through these lanes.
The remaining part of the tour centres around the Lalbaug market, which has the little gems like Chiwda galli (where you can watch fresh farsaan or salted snacks being prepared), Khamkar and Sons (which specialises in chillis sourced from around the country and other spices), the shrine of a famous tamasha artiste at Hanuman Theatre, Chand Sahib Dargah, a quaint slaughter house, and Ganesh talkies, with two more Ganpati shaalas thrown in for
viewing pleasure.
Cost: Rs 600 per person
A maximum of 10 people are accommodated on each tour. Prior registration is a must.
Call: 9867764409 or email beyondbombay@gmail.com
Lalbaugcha Raja
The mandal was founded in 1928 because of a vow for the construction of the present Lalbaug Market at its existing location. The market place at Peru Chawl was shut down in 1932. Hence, the fishermen
and vendors who used to sit in the open place vowed to Lord Ganesh for a permanent place for their market. They established the idol after the market was built in 1934. It's believed that this particular Ganesha grants your every wish, which explains the serpentine queues.