5 reasons why Ganesh Chaturthi is poles apart from Durga Puja celebrations

Love religious celebrations? Read on... 

My friends told me "You're lucky you're moving in Bombay early Sep. You'll witness the grandeur called "Ganesh Chaturthi"! So I was quite looking forward to it. 

So I did witness the grandeur called "Ganesh Chaturthi". 

Ganesha idols were brought home across the city and with much hype to be continued for the next 1 week. Bhakti Sangeet starts 7AM in the morning and makes for quite a positive start to the day. 

Evenings are loud and festive with the much loved "Dhakis", as Bengalis call them. To make sure that I don't have a biased opinion, I did not limit myself to Ganesha pandals in Goregaon & nearby areas (closer to home basically). 

Heard much about the baap of all bappa celebrations in Bombay... So we drove to Parel and visited Lalbaug Cha Raja Sunday evening. 

Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai

... and I was fairly disappointing. Maybe because I have grown up in Kolkata and witnessed the madness called "Durga Puja" year after year. Maybe because there was too much hype about what Ganesh Chaturthi is. And mostly because all my non-bong friends from Bombay have compared these two festivals way more than they should have.

Yeah... basicaly these buggers are to blame. 

Let's the cut the chase & directly get there - 

1. The Pandals for Durga Puja start getting built 1 month in advance and actually compete with each other to win titles sponsored by Asian Paints. Hence there's a lot of creativity & efforts thrown into it to have different themes every year.
Results are - Pandals that look like a fort in Rajasthan, a temple in Chennai, Hogwarts from Harry Potter. There are pandals made of wood, match shitcks, diyas, bamboo, mud, glass - you just name it and someone has done it, 
In Ganesh Chaturthi, the pandals are constructed to host the idol. Build, covered and lit. Except for Andhericha Raja (which is Lalbaug's counterpart for Suburban Bombay), Bombaikars don't care for themes much. 

2. Barring Ganpati celebrations in condominiums, if you want to spend some time alone with you fav Ganesha, seeking advice and saying prayers, you'll most likely not be able to do it at a Sarvajanik celebration. Because the concept here is very similar to the biggest temples of the India. There's a queue. It meanders like a snake till you reach the idol. On the way various sellers will thrust modak, coconut and flowers at you. When you finally reach, you get 10 seconds to stop and stare at the idol. Say thank you? Ask for help? Admire the beauty? Feel empowered? ... Friend, you have 10 seconds so decide what excatly you would like to do when the moment arrives. Once that's done, the snake queue meanders till the exit. 

Durga Ma from a Pandal in Kolkata

Durga Puja has a lot to do with owning a spot, either inside the pandal, or outside from where you can catch a glimpse of the deity, now & then, between convesations with family, peers or a long lost friend. Be a part of the Aarti, Skip lunch and have the Bhog instead... stick around for as long as you want.... no one's going to ask you to make way. 

3. Did I mention dressing up? Durga Puja actually calls for having your wardrobe ready for the 5 days that are going to keep you busy. A jeans and kurti for panchami, Something yelllow for Sasht, An ethnic wear for Saptami (don't overdo it but. Save that for Astami), Definitely Saree for the big Ashtami day, And something more party like for Navami - an indo western would be ideal. Dashami the city of Kolkata sports red. Dorn the traditional white & red saree with a big red bindi and let the men in Kurta keep skipping heart beats. Just as I am writing this, I almost relived the 5 days now. Trust me, it's magical. 
For Ganesh Chaturthi, I don't think people care about clothes much. I did see some people dress in ethnic on day one. But been at work since last 3 days and no one dresses up.Neither do they leave early. Doesn't look like the city is celebrating it's biggest festival ever. In no way.

4. Food. Let's come to food now. Durga Puja celebrations is equivalent to food stalls in plenty. From Fish fry to chat to golgappa to biriyani to the much hyped "Kolkata Chines" - options are galore. Pandal hopping is incomplete without binging into these delicacies even at 2 in the morning.
Bombay ganesh Chaturthi celebrations also have food - modak, vada pav and pav bhaji. Yes various kinds of the above mentioned 3 dishes. But that's it. I guess I'll just leave it at that....

Give me more food! The Bong style. 

Get in line for your plate brother!

5. Music is an intrinsic part of my life; If I'm not wrong, a part of many people's lives. Those 5 days of Durga Puja is a great time to enjoy music on the go. Whether you're travelling in the bus, walking down a street or just having breakfast at home, you'd always hear music playing aloud at some nearby Pandal. From Devi mantra to the local 'Dhaki' players to good old classics to recent album songs by veteran Bengali singers - a lovely mix, never too loud, makes sure you feel festive enough.
Music plays in Bombay too. Too loud to bear. Barring the Ganapati mantri, the rest is just loud distasteful movie songs I believe. And they play at odd hours. 6 Am in the morning so that you can't take the last lap of sleep that u badly need. And ofcouse at 8ish in the night when you are back from work and want to sit down to watch your fav show on FoxLife.

Well, I was expecting much from this festival and like they say, expect not, fret not. A lesson hard learnt. Am sure there are many out there who absolutely love the festival, every bit of it.

Could be that I just happened to notice the weird things. Will give this another shot next year, probably with a Mumbaikar who can show me around well.

Looking forward to Durga Pooja now. It starts in a month's time. Can't wait.

P.S. All opinions are that of an individual (Me!). So they aren't really that important :)