Ganesh Pandal Hopping

A pandal is a temporary structure set up to usually venerate the god and goddess during public festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, etc. Mumbai has the most number of Ganesh Pandals. Ganesh Pandal hopping is visiting and worshipping as many ganpati bappa idols as possible in a day. One thing I can guarantee is you will never find two identical idols anywhere. Each idol is unique in its beauty and so is the decoration. Hats off to all those who put in so much efforts from making the idol to completing the decoration. Every lane has its own ganpati bappa. As a kid, I have been to Girgaon Khetwadi pandal hopping. Here is a catch, you need to know someone from Khetwadi in order to complete the darshan of all the idols in a day. Another memory as a kid was Andheri DN Nagar pandal hopping with my grandpa. During SSC boards, I went pandal hopping in Virar. During college, I went pandal hopping with Grad friends at Parel and Matunga. Post college, I rarely went out with friends for pandal hopping. What remains are memories since none of us had smartphone then to capture photos. Now I go alone for pandal hopping in Virar. Here are a few idols of last year Ganeshotsav.