J-zine - Ganesh Chathurthi

Ganesh Chathurthi is a major festival in many parts of India, but Bombay celebrates this festival with such gusto that people have seriously suggested making the elephant headed god the official symbol of Bombay. Many people bring an earthen idol of Ganesh into their homes. This idol will be kept for a certain period; one, two, six or ten days. During this time family, friends and acquaintances are invited to visit and various religious ceremonies are performed. At the end of the period, the Ganesh idol will be carried to the nearest body of water and immersed with ceremony. Literally thousands of such idols are immersed at Chowpatty beach and about 75 other sites in Bombay city alone. Fortunately, the unbaked figure melts quickly back into mud.

Ganesh Chathurthi is not just a private festival. Enormous Ganesh idols are set up equally huge temporary structures, mandals, in the streets; often causing considerable disturbance to the traffic. Such mandals are sponsored by donations from local people and businesses. As with much else in Bombay, there is a close connection between many of these Ganapati mandals and the underworld. The Sunday Observer (India) states "Today, almost all the Hindu gangsters in the city play host to the elephant headed god."

Ganesh Chathurthi is a difficult time for the traffic police. Each of the approximately five thousand community idols and hundreds of thousands of private idols will be carried in procession to the house or mandal. After some days, the idol will be carried in procession for immersion. Some processions involve hundreds of people and many vehicles. Even a small household procession is a disturbance to traffic. The larger processions may block their route for hours. Close to the immersion sites, one procession follows the next in a seemingly endless stream of people lorries and cars.

As it is all in the name of religion, the police can do little but try to guide the processions along routes that minimise traffic disruption. This year will monitor the developments over closed circuit television. They will have about 30,000 policemen, plus unspecified numbers of State Reserve Police, Central Reserve Police and Home Guards to try to keep things under control. They have also sought assistance from scouts, guides and other student organisations. The police have organised a band to entertain the public coming to the main immersion point at Chowpatty. They have also arranged to set up lost children centres at strategic places.

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