Ganpati Bappa Morya, Mangal Murthy Morya… 'Golden Ganpati of Mumbai'… This name did not happen like this. Every year in Ganesh Utsav, this 14 -foot grand statue of Lord Ganesha is decorated with more than 60 kg of pure gold and jewelery made of more than 100 kg of silver. Every Mumbai resident calls them the city's most 'Amir Ganpati'. The special thing is that Ganesh ji's carrier rat is also made of gold. In such a situation, to see God and his ride, Mumbai residents definitely reach Kings Circle, Wadala. This idol of Lord Ganesha is decorated in GSB Seva Ganesh Pandal, which has been installing 'Golden Ganpati of Mumbai' for the last 70 years.
Today, even though GSB Ganesh Mandal is considered to be one of the most grand and rich pandals in the world, but its history and many things related to it are very interesting and let us talk about the same things today.
The foundation of this institution was laid 74 years ago in 1951, when it was registered as a non-profit (non-profit) organization under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950. Its purpose is only social service. This mandal started its first Ganeshotsav in 1954-55. At that time, the festival started with just a 14-inch small statue. Then there was neither a grand pandal nor crores of jewelery.
71 years ago this festival was started with only a small statue and some devotees. As the years passed, the number of devotees increased and the glory of Ganapati started spreading in all four directions. This festival became huge with faith and charity. At the same time, gradually the 14-inch statue also turned into a huge form of 14 feet. Now every year the height of this idol is only 14 feet.
Usually, many Ganesh Mandals keep their sculptors changing, but it is also a tradition to make a statue of Bappa in GSB Ganesh Mandal. Sculptor Avinash Patkar has learned the art of making Ganesh idol of GSB from his previous generations. His family has been making clay statues for more than 100 years. Although read in prestigious schools like JJ School of Art, Avinash Patkar works as a designer in a government office, but his real identity is his art of making Ganpati idols.
They, along with their daughter Gautami, prepare this idol every year with pure soil and grass. For him, this is not just a task, but a penance, which is part of his family's legacy.
GSB Ganesh Utsav is also known for some of its unique traditions and rituals. This includes an ancient Hindu ritual like 'Librabhar', in which the person is weighed with the food items and then these things are donated. These food items are used to make Mahaprasad.
Another unique ritual is 'Madhasthan', in which people roll on the remaining food on banana leaves, which is considered a blessing. According to a Bhavik, his old back pain was cured by this practice. After the morning worship of Lord Ganpati, there is a tradition of breaking coconut in this pandal. These broken coconuts are given as offerings to the devotees.
If you think that GSB is a grand event of only 5 days by Ganesh Mandal, then you are wrong. This is a social institution that is engaged in social work throughout the year. During the Ganesh festival, 3,500 to 3,800 registered volunteers of this division work day and night to make this festival a success.
The distribution of 'Mahaprasad' to be held on the day of Ganesh festival is another feature of this pandal. Every day food is prepared for thousands of devotees every day. According to a devotee who visited Ganpati here every year, every year in this pandal, more than 18-20 thousand people are given lunch and more than 5,000 people are given breakfast.
All people get the benefit of Mahaprasad, so food is prepared on a large scale every day. About 100 people work in the kitchen. They make about 1000-1500 kg of rice and 1000-1300 liters of rituals daily, so that they can be fed to 18,000 to 20,000 people in lunch.
This mandal takes care of not only food, but also health. During the Ganesh festival, medical camps are set up here, where devotees are given free medical suit if needed.
The Ganesh festival of 2024 last year, ie, was very special for the GSB division. This was his 70th Sri Ganeshotsav ceremony, which was celebrated in a very spectacular and effective manner. In 2024, more than 81,000 puja and services were performed in the pandal. Not only this, devotees offered more than 80 kg of silver to Lord Shri Mahaganapati, which further increased the grandeur of this festival. Five days of devotees were seen to see such a public publicity, which everyone was surprised to see.
Famous for its fame, GSB Seva Mandal, Kings Circle have taken a huge insurance cover of Rs 474.46 crore for this Ganesh festival. This amount is more than the policy of Rs 400 crore last year, due to which the increased price of gold and silver goods is also to include priests and volunteers associated with the mandal in insurance coverage.
