Central Railway Mumbai to Howrah Puja special trains October 2014

Central Railway is operating special trains for the forthcoming Dussehra festival. There will be totally 10 trains in operation, to and fro from Mumbai-Howrah to clear the extra rush of passengers.

Mumbai to Lonavala Seaplane Service schedule and prices

Last month the first seaplane service on India's mainland was launched to take travellers from Mumbai to Lonavala. The air journey takes just about half an hour and provides a novel experience of landing on water instead of on land. What's more, travellers get a superb view from the air of a few of Mumbai's well known landmarks, such as Haji Ali, the sea link connecting Bandra and Worli, Mandwa beach, etc.

2014 Ram Maruti Road Ganapati pandal photos

The photos of this blog post are of the Ram Maruti Road Ganapati pandal. This is one pandal which does not have over the top flashy decor and has really good lighting. The lighting is of a diffused type, not over bright or shadowy and literally makes the Ganapati idol glow.

What's more, you don't tend to get distracted by the pandal decor but your focus is where it should be - taking darshan of the beautifully designed idol.

A couple of days before the immersion of the idol, the pandal sets up a large table outside on which beautifully carved fruits and vegetables are displayed.

2014 Dadarcha Raja Ganapati pandal photos

One of the most prominent and popular Sarvajanik Ganesh pandals in Mumbai is the one at Dadar which is home to "Dadarcha Raja", referring to Lord Ganesha as the King of Dadar area, Mumbai city. This pandal is put up annually by the Vitthalwadi Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

Maharashtra Vyapaari Peth Dadar Mumbai

Now in its 26th year, the Maharashtra Vyapaari Peth is on in full swing - dont' miss it!

There is plenty to see and interesting things to buy at this annual exhibition-cum-sale of household goods, jewellery, gift items, footwear, sarees, snacks, spices, pickles, papads, perfumes, cleaning products, etc. In fact, you will surely be tempted to buy a few things and not return home empty-handed, especially since the festive seasons of Dassehra and Diwali are coming up next month. On purchase of Rs.1000/- worth of products, you can enter the lucky draw by getting a coupon at the desk near the entryway. To get the coupon, make sure you take bills from the various stalls where you are making purchases.

GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti Wadala Ganapati pandal 2014

The Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti is known in Mumbai to be one of the richest mandals. 

Each year, the Ganapati idol of the mandal is bedecked with tonnes of gold jewellery and seated on a golden throne. I visited the pandal this year (60th year of the GSB mandal) and below are the general details and photos. You are strongly advised to carry a bag to take home the traditional snacks, pappads and pickle which are specially on sale during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival!

Shubham Mangalmurti Arts Ganapati idols 2014

As I mentioned in my last year's blog post, Shubham Mangalmurti Arts create a wide variety of beautiful Ganapati idols. The idol makers are from Satara and each year they sell their idols in the Dadar area of Mumbai. 

This year they have set up their idols in a large space on the first floor of a building undergoing construction. So take care when going up there as there are heaps of rubble downstairs.