Devotees personalise their home pandals by adding new themes
Over the next few days, visitors at the Maheshwary’s residence in Lower Parel can get a darshan of the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji temple, but in a miniature version.
Over the next few days, visitors at the Maheshwary’s residence in Lower Parel can get a darshan of the Tirumala Tirupati Balaji temple, but in a miniature version.
The Maheshwarys have recreated the holy shrine in Andhra Pradesh in their home for the ongoing Ganesh festival. Several residents have also gone beyond the ordinary in adopting themes to welcome the Lord Ganesh home.
“We have been adopting themes based on holy shrines for several years, and we had previously recreated the Siddhivinayak temple and Vellore’s Lakshmi temple,” said Harish Maheshwary, a businessman.
The current structure is complete with a replica of Lord Venkateswara along with a Ganesh idol alongside.
At Kandivli residents Santosh and Aruna Joshi’s home, the Ganesh idol was inspired by Lord Buddha and the couple designed the setting to replicate the serenity of a Buddhist monastery.
“During our visit to Lumbini in Nepal last year, which is considered to be Lord Buddha’s birthplace, we were inspired by the serenity of the place, and we decided to integrate it into the theme for the Ganesh festival this year,” said Joshi, a motivational therapist.
Joshi even dressed in the traditional red attire of a Buddhist monk and also played recorded Buddhists chants every day.
“Over the last few years, we have replicated Kerala’s backwaters, Punjab’s fields and Rajasthan’s Sheesh Mahal,” said Joshi.
Dahisar resident Navnit Chudasama created an 8-foot replica of the Golden Temple where the Ganesh idol was placed.
“Guests had to cover their heads when entering the house as is the custom at the temple,” said Chudasama.
So far, the Joshis have received over 300 visitors, while the Maheshwarys have welcomed more than 250 guests.