Diwali celebrations across Mumbai: Social causes take centre stage this festive season

Across Mumbai, social causes are the focal point of Diwali celebrations this year. While many neighbourhoods have organised community events, others have decided

Across Mumbai, social causes are the focal point of Diwali celebrations this year. While many neighbourhoods have organised community events, others have decided to use the occasion to help the less fortunate.

As a part of the celebrations at Bombay Durga Bari Samiti’s Kali pujo, which will be held today at Tejpal auditorium in Tardeo, organisers have tied up with the Robin Hood Army to donate the prasad left over after distribution among devotees.

Robin Hood Army is a group of volunteers that provides surplus food from various restaurants and communities to the needy.

“It is believed that Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, light and prosperity, visits every household and blesses them with the promise of fortune and good luck. This is why we at Durga Bari want the festivities to reach the houses of the underprivileged as well,” said Jayanta Kumar Basu, president of Bombay Durga Bari Samiti.

Continuing their efforts to raise awareness of the need to protect Mumbai’s ‘lungs’, some citizens along with tribals from Aarey Milk Colony will be celebrating the festival by worshiping local deities Hirvadev and Vagoba on the morning of Diwali.

The event comes almost a month after over 2,000 trees were cut at the Metro-3 car shed site in Aarey Milk Colony.

“People of the city have finally realised that their actual wealth is the trees. So on Laxmi Puja, when everyone worships wealth, we will be joining the tribals in praying to their local god Hirvadev, a forest deity,” said Sushant Bali from the Aarey Conservation group.

Residents from a society and five chawls in Sewri have, for the last five decades, been celebrating Diwali like Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi, wherein they get an idol of goddess Laxmi and worship her for seven days.

“People usually celebrate Diwali only with their family, but we wanted everyone from Sewri to gather and have a community platform. The celebrations now attract people from all over Mumbai and Thane,” said Santosh Ingle, organiser of the celebrations at Sewri.