MahaGanesha Festival: Lord’s getting married, all are invited
Ghatkopar resident re-plays Ganesha’s wedding to wives Riddhi, Siddhi in a five-day ritual attended by over 500 guests.
Mumbaikars are known to go overboard during Ganeshotsav but none perhaps have taken to the festivities with such vigour as 35-year-old Prashant Thakkar, who for the past several years have not failed to find unique ways to celebrate the Ganpati week.
And so it was no surprise to his family and friends when they received emails inviting them for the ‘Grand Wedding Ceremony Celebrations’ of Lord Ganesh with his wives Riddhi and Siddhi over five days from September 5 to 9 at his Ghatkopar residence.
Set in one portion of his apartment, Thakkar modelled the mandap out of bedsheets, cane baskets and sparingly used natural colours.
“The idea was to keep the décor as eco friendly as possible,” said Thakkar. Coming from a Gujarati household, Thakkar wanted to have all the rituals as per his family’s traditions – which meant a five day long elaborate line up of rituals including application of Mehandi on the Riddhi, Siddhi idols by a professional artist, pheras while a priest chants prayers and even the vidai on the last day.
Over the course of five days, the family, including Prashanth’s father Bharat and mother Malti, hosted close to 500 guests who were also served a sumptuous lunch.
“Most of the guests, numbering around 300, came on the day of the wedding. Apart from family, several VIPs from the locality including businessmen and corporators too dropped by,” said Thakkar, adding that the family had ordered around 11 kilos of flower petals for the visitors to shower on the idols during the wedding.
While the celebrations at the Thakkar home ended on Friday, he has already started preparing for next year’s festival albeit he has not shared his plans with anyone.
“Last year, I had recreated the Dwarka Temple with Radha and Krishna idols accompanying Ganpati. I have plans for next year but what fun will it be if I let it out right now,” said Thakkar.
Here is how you can participate in the MahaGanesha initiative and get featured in Mirror. Capture your Ganpati celebration through pictures or stories and share them with us. Log on to mahaganesha.mumbaimirror.com, Facebook.com/mumbaimirror or WhatsApp us on 8291128994. Ganpati Bappa Morya.
Mumbaikars are known to go overboard during Ganeshotsav but none perhaps have taken to the festivities with such vigour as 35-year-old Prashant Thakkar, who for the past several years have not failed to find unique ways to celebrate the Ganpati week.
And so it was no surprise to his family and friends when they received emails inviting them for the ‘Grand Wedding Ceremony Celebrations’ of Lord Ganesh with his wives Riddhi and Siddhi over five days from September 5 to 9 at his Ghatkopar residence.
“While a lot of people bring the Ganesha idol home, people often forget Riddhi and Siddhi who also hold a prominent position in our Hindu mythology,” said Thakkar, explaining the reason why he chose the ritual.
Set in one portion of his apartment, Thakkar modelled the mandap out of bedsheets, cane baskets and sparingly used natural colours.
“The idea was to keep the décor as eco friendly as possible,” said Thakkar. Coming from a Gujarati household, Thakkar wanted to have all the rituals as per his family’s traditions – which meant a five day long elaborate line up of rituals including application of Mehandi on the Riddhi, Siddhi idols by a professional artist, pheras while a priest chants prayers and even the vidai on the last day.
Over the course of five days, the family, including Prashanth’s father Bharat and mother Malti, hosted close to 500 guests who were also served a sumptuous lunch.
“Most of the guests, numbering around 300, came on the day of the wedding. Apart from family, several VIPs from the locality including businessmen and corporators too dropped by,” said Thakkar, adding that the family had ordered around 11 kilos of flower petals for the visitors to shower on the idols during the wedding.
While the celebrations at the Thakkar home ended on Friday, he has already started preparing for next year’s festival albeit he has not shared his plans with anyone.
“Last year, I had recreated the Dwarka Temple with Radha and Krishna idols accompanying Ganpati. I have plans for next year but what fun will it be if I let it out right now,” said Thakkar.
Here is how you can participate in the MahaGanesha initiative and get featured in Mirror. Capture your Ganpati celebration through pictures or stories and share them with us. Log on to mahaganesha.mumbaimirror.com, Facebook.com/mumbaimirror or WhatsApp us on 8291128994. Ganpati Bappa Morya.
