Gulal, firecrackers, drums and DJ music marked the final day of Ganpati idol immersions, Lalbagcha or Lalbaugcha Raja 2012

Lalbagcha or Lalbaugcha Raja 2012

The Raja ends 10-day Sojourn

Gulal, firecrackers, drums and DJ music marked the final day of Ganpati idol immersions.

Girgaum Chowpatty Enthusiastic cries of “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya” rent the air at Girgaum Chowpatty following the pre-immersion aarti of Fortcha Raja at 8.30am on Sunday, marking the end of the 10-day festival. Preceding this idol was the popular Lalbaugcha Raja. Minutes later the gulal-covered exhausted devotees trudged up to the nearby Charni Road station to catch a train home — a few having come from as far as Khopoli, Lonavala and Surat. On Anant Chaturthi, which fell on Saturday, mandals ferried tall idols accompanied by firecrackers, drums, cymbals and music system ensembles replete with DJs atop trucks through the narrow roads of Parsiwada, Opera House and the road overbridge leading to Girgaum Chowpatty. While a few mandals had troupes displaying lezim and flag dances, most did not think it unfit to dance to Bollywood numbers. “While the household idols began coming in for immersion from 3pm, the first big idol came in around 3.30pm,” said Virar resident Shweta Godambe, who, along with her husband and two children, arrived around noon and left only after a darshan of the Lalbaugcha Raja. Juhu Chowpatty While devotees converged at Juhu Chowpatty to bid adieu to Lord Ganesha, an image of the elephant-headed god created in the sand by Santa Cruz resident Laxmi Gaud caught many people’s eye. “I have been making such images on the sand on all days of the festival for the last three years,” Gaud told DNA. “I perform the puja and my sand Ganpati gets ‘immersed’ during the high tide.” While mandals started coming on Juhu beach from 11.30am on Saturday, the police faced a tough time trying to control the swelling crowd in the evening. “The crowd began getting out of control as major mandals began streaming in even before those with household idols were leaving the premises,” said a police official. Around nine people received minor injuries in the melee. “Only one person was sent to RN Cooper Hospital for treatment and was discharged later,” said a civic official. Powai Lake The Powai mohalla committee, local police and BMC’s disaster management had a tough task controlling the large turnout at Powai lake on Saturday. Awestruck children, along with their parents, and even foreigners surrounded the lake to see the idols being lifted by a crane and volunteers of the Nagrik Seva Mandal immerse the idols. Australian Samuel Braganza, who was in Mumbai for official work, came to the lake at 6pm and kept clicking photographs of the idols. “It is a magnificent feeling. I hope to capture every mood of this festive time and take back home,” he said. Artificial lakes In just 30 minutes, at least four idols were immersed in the six artificial lakes inside the Pestom Sagar’s Nana-Nani Park on Sunday. Away from the noise and crowd, families performed the aarti and visarjan in peace. Amita Kare, 24, said: “There is no rush. We did the Ganpati visarjan peacefully.” “Till 5pm, 100 idols were immersed and we expect the number to rise,” said Prakash Barishikar, member, Pestom Sagar Citizens’ Forum. Sumit Upadhyay, 29, who works with the merchant navy, said: “Earlier we used to go to the Vasant Park Pond in Chembur. But for the last five years, we have been coming here. It is convenient and eco-friendly.”