The Khetwadi area, which falls in Charni road and Grant road, is known for displaying gigantic Ganesh idols every year and has around 20 Ganesh mandals in over 14 lanes drawing thousands of devotees. Revellers spend an entire night navigating the small lanes (gully) to visit all the mandals.
This year, a major attraction in the area is Ganpati bappa in Vinayaki Devi’s form — the lord dressed as a woman. On Thursday night, the second day of the ten-day festival, a long queue, especially of families, was seen outside Khetwadi Cha Mahaganpati mandal in the 8th gully to see Bappa’s female form and listen to the fascinating story behind it.
The Ganesh idol here is draped in a Nauvari saree, a traditional Maharashtrian saree, has long hair and is also seen wearing bangles, gold ornaments and a Gajra (garland worn in hair). As part of Dekhava (background scene), the walls around the idol have photos of prominent women personalities such as Rani Laxmi bai, Lata Mangeshkar, Kalpana Chawla, Indira Gandhi, Sindhutai Sapkal, Mithali Raj and P V Sindhu, among others.
Dinesh Bhujbal, who held his one-year-old daughter in his arms as he walked out after seeing the idol, said, “The idea was unique. It’s good that they told us the story through a video presentation in the beginning before revealing the idol so that people know the story behind it. Women empowerment is of paramount importance.”
His wife Apurva said, “It was very nice. Many don’t know the story behind this unique idol.”
Nilesh Shirdhankar, secretary of the 59-year-old mandal, said, “We wanted to send a strong message in this male-dominated society that women are equally important. We came up with this idea at the mandal meeting. The legend goes that Ganpati eagerly wanted to meet his mother who was meditating in a cave. His mother Parvati told him that he could meet her only if he transformed himself into a woman. So Bappa took the avatar of Vinayaki Devi, who embodies the avatars of three devis — Lakshmi, Parvati and Sarasvati. This avatar shows that every man embodies some element of a woman.”
Anil Kambli, president of Akhil Khetwadi Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav mandal, an umbrella body of 37 mandals in Khetwadi and neighbouring Girgaon, Kumbarwada and Grant Road, said, “The entire Khetwadi area is lit up and devotees just love coming here. The Ganesh mandals here are at least 40 to 80 years old. We took inspiration from Lokmanya Tilak who started the festival in Girgaon over a century ago.”
Kambli, who is also president of Om Tandav mandal in 10th gully, added, “Our mandal has a beautiful idol of Ganesh in Lord Ram’s avatar. Our Dekhava has photo stories on the wall about Lord Ram’s Vanvas (exile).”
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Nearby, the 11th gully has an over 30-feet-tall Ganesha idol in Parshuram’s avatar. Hemant Dixit, president of Khetwadi 11th lane, Mumbaicha Maharaja, said, “The entire Konkan area is known as Parshuram Bhumi. We have also put together a set to give visitors background knowledge of Parshuram who was Lord Vishnu’s sixth avatar.”
Another draw for devotees is Khetwadi Cha Raja in Khambata lane where the Ganesh idol in Lord Ram’s avatar is depicted airborne, with Lord Hanuman and the Vanar Sena holding him on their shoulders. The mandal on the 12th lane is a fictional palace, borrowing from the carved royal seats in Rajasthan and Radha-Krishna Mahal. The sixth gully has the idol atop a mouse, conveying the message that Bappa has arrived to bless everyone.
