Mumbaicha Maharaja in Khetwadi is Maharashtra's tallest Ganesh idol this year

With chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya the 10daylong Ganeshotsav commenced in Mumbai on Wednesday with people welcoming Lord Ganesha with pomp and fervourMumbai was all decked up to celebrate the Ganesh Chaturthi with big pandals and sparkling lights across the cityMumbaicha Maharaja PicRonak MastakarAfter two years of muted celebrations the citys Ganeshotsav mandals are celebrating the festival in a big manner Many Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav mandals broke barriers by bringing tall and beautiful Lord Ganesha idolsIn Mumbai there are various Ganesh idols that have a long history This year with double excitement and celebrations in double South Mumbai residents welcomed the tallest Lord Ganesha idol The eleventh lane of Khetwadi Khetwadi 11th Galli as it is locally called has the tallest Lord Ganesha idol in MaharashtraAlso Read Ganeshotsav 2022 Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Galli and other Mumbai pandals make elaborate arrangements for grand festival celebrationsThe Khetwadi 11th Galli Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal was founded in 1962 This year the mandal is celebrating its 61st year The 38feet towering idol of lsquoMumbaicha Maharajarsquo known as lsquoKhetwadi cha Lambodararsquo is claimed to be the tallest Lord Ganesha idol in MaharashtraThe idol can be seen in the avatar of Parshuram Lord Vishnursquos incarnation Parshuram is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu He eliminated 21 generations of Kshatriyas over the injustice done to his clanMumbaicha Maharaja PicRonak MastakarAmit Ramesh Sawalkar vice president of the mandal told MidDay that they have been bringing tall idols for years ldquoOnly during the two years of the pandemic we did not bring tall idols Before that we used to bring idols of 2025 feet In 2019 we brought a 30feet idol This year we brought the tallest Lord Ganesha idol in Maharashtrardquo he saidAlso Read Ganeshotsav 2022 Herersquos why Mumbaibased Ganpati murtikars are struggling to keep the art aliveExplaining why the mandal decided to bring the 38feet towering idol of Lord Ganesha in the avatar of Parshuram Sawalkar told MidDay ldquoFor the past two years we have been facing the wrath of the Covid19 pandemic Hence we decided to bring Lord Ganesha in the avatar of Parshuram so that he can help us defeat the pandemic and get us all back to our normal lives as we were before 2020rdquoMumbaicha Maharaja PicRonak MastakarSpeaking about how the Covid19 pandemic affected the mandal Sawalkar said ldquoWe didnt let the pandemic affect us We did celebrate it but following government norms Our pandals were big according to permissions granted to us We did bring murtis during the two years of the pandemic and did immersion at Chowpatty following all government norms In 2021 we brought a seven feet idol made from paper mache In 2020 we brought a 5 feet idol made from sadhu clayrdquoMumbaicha Maharaja PicRonak Mastakar