Festivals

Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Sindhis, Zorastrians, Jews etc. people of all religions stay here. People in Mumbai are crazy about festivals. Almost all Indian festivals are celebrated in Mumbai. People here enjoy the festivals of every religion, state, caste etc. as it is multi-cultural society. You will find the same enthusiasm in all Mumbaikars during Diwali as well as Id and same applies for Christmas. There is a mix of religions in Mumbai due to the widespread growth of various communities and migrants. The festivals here are celebrated in a grand way uniting all the people of Mumbai.

Ganesh Chaturthi

The on-going Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most major festivals, celebrated in the city. This festival involves the placing of an idol of Lord Ganesha in the house for either 1½, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days after which it is immersed in the ocean along with a colourful and noisy parade. This is primarily celebrated by Maharashtrians but almost all Mumbaikars participate in one way or another. It is the birthday of Lord Ganesha which is celebrated not only by Mumbai but the whole state. This festival is very famous and it pulls crowds in Millions from various parts of the country. The various themes of different mandaps, Idols of all sizes are of great attraction to people. People stand in long queues for the darshan of their beloved God. Ganpati idols of Lalbaug and Ganesh galli are very famous and attract most of the crowd.

People chant loudly ‘ganpati bappa morya’, ‘ek, don, teen, chaar, Ganpaticha Jaijaikar’ with great enthusiasm. The negative point of this festival is the pollution it creates. The festival is big and creates large amount of pollution. Idols are made of POP and immersed in lakes, rivers and seas harming the marine lives. The noise pollution is at its peak during immersion ceremony and the decoration of thermocol harms the environment even more.

Diwali

Diwali is the most popular festival in India celebrated by almost whole of Hindu community. Mumbai being a place with people from every nook and corner Diwali is also a great celebration time here. Most schools in Mumbai get long holidays for Diwali – the most awaited ‘Diwali Vacations’. People are very much excited for this festival. Shopping is done during all festivals but mostly it is done at this time of the year. People also receive a Diwali bonus from office .

This festival symbolizes the victory of truth over evil. Diyas and Lanterns light up all the houses. Rangolis are made outside the house. People here don’t have big verandas for rangolis but then too we tend to maintain our culture by drawing rangolis in passages of the building, balconies etc. Crackers are lighted and people enjoy this festival to the fullest with family and friends. The negative point is the air pollution and noise pollution created by fire crackers.

Krishna Janmashtami

Now, this is the celebration of Lord Krishna’s birthday. Dahi handi is celebrated all over Mumbai where a pot filled with curd is hung at great height and a group of youngsters climb over each other forming a pyramid to break the pot. This is done because it is said that likes Lord Krishna curd and he used steal curd made by his mother in this way. Cash prizes are kept by politicians and commercialization is done of this festival. Small children are used in pyramids as they can climb easily at the top. Government has put a ban on small children involving in big pyramids. People die because of falling from great heights and many get injured. This festival is a matter of concern for people.

Navratri

The festival of Navratri is more famous in Gujarat but it is celebrated in Mumbai with same devotion. Gujarati folk dance festivals of Garba and Dandia are performed by people for all nine nights and the goddess is worshipped. Mumbai dances to the rhythm of Garba raas. You can also get navratri dresses and jewellery on rent during this festival if you don’t want to buy one as it is heavy material. The band of Falguni Pathak is famous for this festival and people are crazy to get passes of such nice bands. People are mesmerized by the music. Again the negative thing in this festival is the noise pollution created by the bands and even small places in which it is organized.

Other than these Hindu festivals like Holi, Gudhi Padva, Dassera etc are also celebrated in Mumbai.

Eid

Mumbai has a considerable population of Musliums staying in Muslim communities like Bandra, Byculla, Mira road, Mohammed Ali road, Andheri etc. These are the areas where you will see Eid celebration in full swing. Tasty Biryani and sheer kurma are made during Eid. Haji ali, Mahim dargah etc are some of the mosques where you can see Eid celebrated in ethnic and traditional way of Muslim community.

Christmas

Christian community is also present in large number in Mumbai. Areas like Mahim, Colaba, Bandra Vile Parle etc. are some of the Christian Communities in Mumbai. Mount Mary church at Bandra Bandstand and Mahim Causeway church and the Holy  Family church at Andheri are the spots to visit during this festival. Beautiful cribs are made at homes and churches, X-Mas trees are decorated and not to forget Santa Claus delivers gifts for children in Mumbai too. Mumbai is a very cosmopolitan city and Christmas is enjoyed by people of all religion, castes and creed.  The delicacies like plum cakes, pastries etc.  are the tasty parts of the festival.

Other than these traditional and religious festivals there are event festivals in Mumbai which attracts a great crowd not only from various parts of India but all over the world. Some of them are as follows:

1. Kala Ghoda Arts festival - this is the most awaited and most popular art festival of Mumbai.

2. Mumbai Film Festival – Mumbai is the city of largest film industry and this festival is mainly for documentaries and short films.

3. Banganga Festival - this is a music festival especially for music lovers. This festival is organized by Maharashtra Tourism.