Festivities know no boundaries, Ganesh mandals show the way

Even before Bappa is brought in, Francis Fernandes’s abstinence from non-vegetarian food begins

Even before Bappa is brought in, Francis Fernandes’s abstinence from non-vegetarian food begins. He doesn’t drink and smoke either for a fortnight which includes the days before and after the festival.

A man playing dhol in front of Shyam Nagarcha Raja in Jogeshwari (East) HT Photo

Rahim Mubarak Tamboli, a choreographer, performed with his troupe in front of Shyam Nagarcha Raja in Jogeshwari (East).

Donning a skull cap, Abdul Rehman did the maha aarti at Dongricha Raja, while Dilpreet Kalshi showed his magic with the dhol for Shyam Nagarcha Raja.

This Ganeshotsav, mandals in the city are walking the talk on spreading communal harmony and brotherhood where people of all faiths are getting their fair share of festive cheer.

Fernandes is the president of Tilakwadi Ganeshotsav mandal in Jogeshwari (East) and is an ardent follower of rituals and traditions. “Nobody from the mandal disobeys me just because I am a Christian,” he said.

For Tamboli, it was an honour to give the Bappa a salami.

“It was not a normal dance but we showed Ganpati’s ‘roop’ through this. Even if I am a Muslim, I want to convey that there is no bigger religion than humanity. We just want to take forward this message which is slowly getting lost in the din,” Tamboli, who runs Rhythm Dance Academy, said.

Shyam Nagarcha Raja mandal president Shivaji Khairnar said their objective was to convey the message, ‘sarva dharma sambhav’ in these troubled times.

“Their Muharram procession comes from the same area where we bring our Ganpati idol. We welcome them on Muharram and they return the gesture during Ganesh festival by according us a grand welcome. We do not allow any room for hate on account of religion,” Khairnar said, adding he observes fast during Ramzan.

At Gundavlicha Morya mandal in Andheri, transgenders are invited to do the maha aarti.

“Just like how a man and woman live in society, we should be treated equally; but we still face discrimination. I have completed by master’s in mass communication but I don’t have a job because I belong to this community. Unless we enter the mainstream, we will not be treated as equals,” Shambhavi Pujari, member of the group that performed maha aarti, said.

Harishchandra Narkar, president of Shree Ganesh Krida mandal at Andheri’s Kajuwadi, said their decorator was a Christian. “Allwyn Fernandes stays away from non-vegetarian food for 11 days.”

The mandal also gets a visitor John Coelho from Dubai every year. “Coelho is a member of the mandal and he takes 12 days off from his work to celebrate with us at Kajuwadi,” Narkar said.

Ask BMC’s chatbot

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has started a new service on its WhatsApp chatbot in which people can dial 8999228999 to find their nearest idol immersion site.