Ganapati Bappa Maurya!

Post my trekking, I indulged myself in the preparations for the Ganesha festival that Mumbai was gearing up for. Our friend Ganesh Bhai, had the background art for the Ganesha idol all planned. He had two ideas, one for the apartment Ganesha and the other to be arranged at a friend's house. I was lucky to be part of this because, I learnt a lot about a new form of art. Cardboards were cut in different shapes to form the outline. They were then joined and stuck to a hardboard that came from box material. 

On one of the works, we tried plaster of paris to fill the gaps in the work but it did not stick well. 

On the other, we planned a 3-D effect by providing wooden strips between layers and stuck together all the minute details of the final art.

A black primer was applied before the silver spray paint went on them. 

But it was the idol of Ganesha and some lighting that made this art work complete. By the time the first one was complete it was 11:30 in the night. We had to get to the second one.

For the one to be placed downstairs, Ganesh Bhai had originally planned colours like blue and orange to resemble a peacock feather but the black primer ruined the plan and we could not apply colours on them. So we went with gold and silver spray on that too. Again the lighting and the Ganesha idol completed this work at 6:00 AM on the morning of Ganesha festival. A full night was thus spent in doing some good and interesting art work. The joy that the process of doing an art work is unmatchable and this time it was a collective work from me, my Brother in law Dinesh, Ganesh Bhai and his son Shivam.  

Next morning at around 10 or 11, we all got together for the Ganesha pooja. It is always nice to observe the enthusiasm in the Mumbaikars during a Ganesha festival. 

I witnessed the 1.5 days visarjan. As it continued to drizzle, the crowd lovingly and enjoyably danced their way towards the lake and sent away their beloved Ganesha. 

During the Monsoon and Ganesha festival, that luckily coincide, is definitely the best time to be in Mumbai. Apart from that,  did make some local train journeys to meet my friends in Mulund and Vashi and my aunt in Kharghar. My sister as usual cooked some delicious Maharashtrian dishes that I like. This trip like all previous ones to Mumbai felt complete.