The smell🤮🤧 Was it a gas leak?

On 25th August, around 3 P.M., preparations for erecting the Mandap began with the cleaning of the open space in front of Ibadul Qureshi and Eqbal Khan’s house. Shubham Kanojiya (26) and Rishab Singh (20), armed with a karata broom, swept the entire area. Ronak Singh (18), Sudhanshu Singh (20) and Arshad Khan (22) collected the waste in plastic goni (old cement bags) and dumped it.

By 4:30–5 P.M., the space was clean and ready. A single-brick barrier was laid to prevent rainwater from entering the Mandap. About 30 bricks, 2 bags of sand and half a bag of cement were brought on Shubham’s Honda Activa from Khan Uncle’s shop (Khan Lime Depot), who never charges for anything that’s to be used for Ganpati. By 7 P.M., everything was ready with team effort, so the Mandapwala would find the ground clear to start his work the next day.

On 26th August, around 10:30 A.M., the Mandapwala and his team began fixing the bamboos and raising the shed. By afternoon the bamboo structure was ready for tarpaulin covering, and by 7:30 P.M., the Mandap was fully complete — decorated and ready to welcome Bappa.

At 10 P.M., Naseem Khan (35), Khan Uncle’s son, was ready with their tempo to bring the moorti from Chembur Naka, near Charai Hindu Samshan Bhoomi. The men of Deshpande Wadi — Narendra Kanojiya (35), Darshan Kedare (39), Rahul Singh (30) and others — boarded the tempo, chanting “Ganpati Bappa… Morya.” By 11 P.M., a 3 ft. Bappa made his grand entry amidst crackers, rockets and paper poppers.

On 27th August, once the Sthapna Pooja concluded at 5 P.M., the Mandap became a daily gathering point. From competing to play favourite songs on the speaker, to games of Antakshari, Housie and cards — there was always something happening. One highlight was the homemade lassi, kheer and parathas from Dalijeet Chaddha house, served as prasad after every aarti.

Another major highlight was the evening langar, organised almost every day by different households. Regardless of who organised it, nearly everyone from the Wadi contributed. The boys fetched vegetables, oil, spices and other ingredients from the market, while cooking was done at Narendra Kanojiya’s house. The women — Mrs. Kanojiya, Mrs. Singh, Ms. Kaur ( Dalijeet Paaji’s wife) and others — divided the tasks smartly. One cut vegetables, another cooked, some kneaded the flour for puris while others fried puris and papads.

Food distribution at the counter was managed by Shreya Singh (25), Asad Khan (29) and Jatin Kedare (30), while cleanliness was handled by Sudhanshu Singh (24), Ritesh Singh (26) and Arshad Khan (22).

Visarjan day this year, 2nd September, was unique since Ganpati celebrations began in Deshpande Wadi in the year 2000. It stood out for two reasons. First, for the very first time in decades, a Puneri Pathak dhol was organised for Visarjan instead of the regular dhol. Second, the dhol spot, usually near Khan Uncle’s house, was shifted about 100 feet away to the main road because Khan Uncle wasn’t keeping well.

The high-energy Puneri dhol began at 9 P.M., and the tireless dancing continued till midnight. The plan was to stretch till 12:30–1 A.M., but police intervention at 12:15 A.M. and Philip D’souza’s (fondly known as Dilip Anna) strict sleep deadline of 1 A.M. cut the celebrations short. Bappa’s Visarjan journey began around 12:30 A.M. on Khan Uncle’s tempo, with Dilip Anna walking ahead of everyone else.

The reason Dilip Anna leads the Visarjan is because the locality’s mandal isn’t registered, which makes the formalities difficult. But Dilip Anna uses his contacts to ensure everything gets done smoothly.

Thus, like many Ganpati celebrations, even Deshpande Wadi’s is an example of togetherness and collective spirit — where Khan Uncle’s tempo, bricks, sand and cement, Diljit Paaji’s parathas, lassi and kheer, and Dilip Anna’s contacts all come together to complete the festival.