Mandals set the stage for city to sway this Navratri
Mumbai: With Ganeshotsav gone by, the city is now preparing to enter the thick of the festive season in a big way with Navratri
Mumbai: With Ganeshotsav gone by, the city is now preparing to enter the thick of the festive season in a big way with Navratri. After a two-year lull, four days from today all the party people will be headed to the northern suburbs for the ten-day traditional fare.
While Borivali, the Gujarati-dominated suburb, hosts the big acts, Ghatkopar, Mulund and Thane follow closely.
As many as seven big Navratri mandals in Borivali draw in lakhs from across the city. This year the fervour is building up with some of the top artistes invited to perform.
Seven big mandals are vying for space here, with big industry names such as Falguni Pathak, sibling-duo Preety-Pinky, Nilesh Thakkar, Kinjal Dave, among others.
In Kora Kendra Ground, which has attracted loyalists for decades, the Naidu Club Navratri is preparing to ring in its twentieth in a big way. “The two-year break has encouraged more people to prepare for Navratri this year. We are receiving a lot of queries from all over the city,” said Ganesh Naidu, the organiser of the Kora Kendra Navratri programme.
Each year the ground has 18,000 to 20,000 footfall every day. This year’s equity will be traditional Kathiawadi songs for raas-garba and dandiya, and well-known folk singer Nirav Barot has been roped in for the event. Since the city is experiencing the last leg of monsoons, organisers have built a one lakh square foot wooden platform where people can dance despite the rain. Each season pass is priced at ₹3000.
Pramod Mahajan Sports Complex in Chikuwadi, Borivali (W), will host the established queen of garba, Falguni Pathak at their Navratri Utsav, while singer Kinjal Dave will perform for Durgadevi Navratra Utsav Samiti, at Kutchi Ground, on Link Road, Borivali.
“Borivali has become the Navratri hub in Maharashtra. The biggest names will be performing here this year and people couldn’t be happier,” said Pankaj Kotecha, whose group Navrang Navratri, is organising the first AC Dome Navratri at the Opal Convention Centre, on New Link Road. It can include approximately 5,000 people, while the ten-day season pass is being sold at ₹4,600.
“People spend lakhs on their outfits and start practising two months in advance. This year, rain will not spoil the fun,” added Kotecha.
Organisers are negotiating with the government for an extension from the 10 pm deadline to midnight for at least three days.
Ghatkopar, traditionally known for three to four big mandals, has lost out to Mulund and Thane over the last five years.
The big-ticket event here is organised by Lakshmi Foundation at the Grand Nalanda banquet hall – celebrations kicked off a month in advance, with a garba event every Sunday.
Founder Praveen Bhanushali expects a footfall of 700-800 every night. Each pass is priced at ₹200. “We will play old school songs in our event that were played in the past in Kutch and Kathiawad,” said Bhanushali.
Thane got its big garba in 2017, thanks to chief minister Eknath Shinde, who was then the guardian minister of Thane district, with Raas Rang. This year’s event was inaugurated on Sunday, and is expected to draw 8000-10000 people on weekdays and 15,000 on weekends. A 1,50,000 square feet wooden platform has been constructed for people to dance with ease.
Jitendra Mehta, president of CERDAI-MCHI, Thane, said security for the event has been beefed up to avoid any untoward incident and several CCTVs and a watchtower set up, and bouncers employed. With a two-crore purse, the event will be dotted with celebrities from the Marathi and Gujarati entertainment industry -- ‘Dhol King of Navratri’ Naitik Nagda, Umesh Barot, Kosha Pandya, Divya Joshi and Ambar Desai, are a few.
The Yuvak Prerna Foundation, in Mulund, will organise a garba for the fifteenth year at Kalidas Ground, under the guidance of MP Manoj Kotak.
Spokesperson for the foundation, Rajesh Chawda, has promised a light and sound show, which will be a part of the decor. ‘Dholida’-fame singer Jahnvi Shrimankar, Sufi artiste Bhavin Shastri, Pomal Shah, Sharad Lashkari and Bollywood’s dhol kings Hanif-Aslam will perform here.
The event draws over 12,000 every day, but the entry will be restricted at 8pm this year. Chawda says, Prerna raas is a favourite for people from the central suburbs.
The event will go beyond commerce this year, with the first round of garba being organised by special groups. In the spirit of cultural integration, the bhondla dance form, often dubbed as the garba of Maharashtra, will also be included.