Mumbai’s Ganesh Aagman Sohlas Begin: Parel’s Iconic Pandals Welcome Bappa, Idols Set to Travel to Gujarat
Mumbai: Mumbai has begun its annual countdown to Ganesh Chaturthi, with the city’s much-loved Ganesh Aagman Sohlas already underway ahead of the festival, which falls on September 14 this year. More than a month out, the streets of the Lalbaug-Parel belt long considered the beating heart of Mumbai’s Ganeshotsav culture have started filling with chants of “Ganpati Bappa Morya” as devotees turn out to receive the first of the season’s grand idols at their neighbourhood mandals.
Several of the city’s best-known Ganesh mandals have already held their traditional Aagman Sohlas, ceremonially welcoming intricately crafted idols to the sound of dhol-tasha troupes and rows of saffron flags. A number of these celebrations played out across Mumbai on August 2, signalling that the city has officially entered festival mode, with devotion, music and the kind of energy the season is known for on full display.
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Idols Head to Gujarat This Year
One notable trend this year: several idols crafted in Mumbai are being transported to Gujarat, a sign of how far the city’s Ganesh celebrations now reach beyond Maharashtra’s borders. Among the groups receiving these Mumbai-made idols are the Malhari Group in Surat, the Vishwaraja Utsav Mandal in Surat, and the Mahakal Sena Sarvajanik Yuvak Mandal in Gujarat.
According to announcements shared by various mandals on social media, Aagman processions are lined up on an almost weekly basis through August, with anticipation building steadily in the run-up to the ten-day festival.