Yesterday we went on a mission to visit THE Ganesha idol at Lal Baug in the centre of Mumbai. Equiped with passports and confidence we headed off towards down town Mumbai. We were first to pick up a work colleague of Karsten to join us in this adventure. Upon arrival to her apartment building, we got invited in to meet her father and brothers. They are so friendly here towards guests; just loving it J We got served lots of snacks and got to enjoy the beautiful view from their apartment over the city skyline. We even got a good sight of the house of India’s richest man worth 6,3 billion NOK (around 1,1 billion USD). This house is 27 storeys high and is the home of a family of five. Really an example of the enormous inequalities here in India.
 |
| Driving here was crazy, people everywhere! |
After some nice, Indian hospitality we went off to see the idol of Ganesha. Once we arrived there we were trapped in a total chaos! Really, I think you must just experience it in order to get the feel of how crazy it really is… They sell everything from bread, sweets, flowers to give to the Ganesh, masala chai ++ and there are just sooo many people, and cars, and scooters and noise. This place, Lal Baug is the number one place to go to for Hindus during the Ganesh festival. The site used to be a fish market, but it was forced to shut down as it was planned to build high-rises on the plot. The fishermen then prayed to the Ganesha that the market should not be closed down. The prayers were heard and the fishermen got their market back and established the Ganesh idol. Since that day in 1934, Lord Ganesha has become popular as it fulfills wishes.
 |
| The line up, people selling everything! |
To get in and actually see the Lord Ganesh, people line up for a very long time. To just walk pass and see the idol, you would have to line up for around 18 hours, and to get to the stage and be able to touch it you would spend 36 hours waiting in queue! We did not plan on waiting this long and had our cover all planned up: we were from Norway, writing about Mumbai…Which was not that far from the truth, as we are from Norway and do write blogs about life in Mumbai…
 |
| Posing in front of Ganesha |
So we got in J I mean just being outside experiencing this lively area of town was a special experience, but getting in and walking towards the idol was amazing considering that people actually line up for 18 hours to see this meaning it must be something very special for many people. Though we were only able to see the Ganesha idol for about 2 minutes once we were in, so I am amazed that people wait in line for so long in order to experience something so short. But I am very happy to have been there and seen it.
 |
| The Ganesha Idol |
 |
| Our locals with at the lovely restaurant |
After this, we went to a Gujarati restaurant called Soam, which is supposed to be the best in Mumbai. And having two locals with us, they decided on the menu for our lunch and it was just lovely! I really enjoy Indian food and this was no exception! All vegetarian food, but I actually prefer veg food here in India as that is what they make the best.
How can you say that driving at Lalbaug was crazy? I was the one behind the steering wheel
ReplyDelete