Every year, it is a tradition to ring the bells of Lord Ganesha near my home in Chennai and stepping into the year with blessings, divine and positive vibes and loads of wishes from well-wishers, friends and family. This year being in Mumbai, the best thing we could do is to make a beginning with a visit to Siddhi Vinayak Temple, in Prabavathi, Mumbai. On 2 Jan, we had this great privilege and happiness of visiting Lord Ganesha and seeking his blessings. We took the archana seva VIP darshan ticket (costing Rs1000/-) for a family of 4, as it was heavily crowded and also to get the archana done and a closer glimpse of the Lord. We had an amazing darshan and a very satisfying trip to the temple followed by a visit to meet my CSC-friend Ganesh for an amazing reunion and feast at his residence which is few meters away from the temple
Few Facts of the most popular temple of Lord Ganesha not only in Mumbai, but entire India:
The Siddhivinayak Ganesha idol is quite unique and unusual as it was carved out of a single black stone and has Ganesha’s trunk to the right instead of left.
1. Average of 40000 devotees visit the temple every day and this number triples on Tuesdays, Sundays and special days
2. Donations around Rs 100 crores are received every year making this temple richest Ganesha temple in India. Shree Siddhivinayak temple is one of the richest temples in the country with huge amounts of donations, in the range of Rs 100 million to 150 million a year, pouring in from all corners of the world.
3. Temple offers nearly 30000 laddoos and 20000 coconut barfies from its kitchen everyday as Prasad and surprisingly it is not Modak !
4. Each Prasad packet consisting of 1 laddoo and 1 Burfi costs Rs 10/- and this averages to 9-10Crs of revenue to the temple every year
5 . Heavily space-starved and vertically inclined megalopolis, the temple is situated in a congested narrow lanes of Mumbai, however, every person visiting the temple find their way out - be it a Celebrity Politician, Film Star or business man or a normal visitor
6. Siddhi Vinayak is said to be a grantor of humble wishes and people strongly believe that visiting this temple before beginning of anything ushers good things and success.
7. The beautiful inner dome of the temple is made of gold plating and the walls of the temple are so beautifully decorated and the wooden doors have 8 forms of Ganesha
8. There is a small Hanuman temple inside the premises which is said to have found a place after a hanuman idol was found during a road expansion near the temple in 1952.
9. Navasacha Ganesha is said to grant all wishes and is escorted by Siddhi and Buddhi in the temple
10. The original temple was a modest 3.6 sq.m. brick structure which was then renovated into a building due to the generous donation by a rich Agri woman named Deubai Patil. The playground that you see near the Siddhivinayak complex was formed by filling up a 19th century lake facing the eastern and southern side of the temple. The complex also once housed a living colony for its caretakers.
Ganapathi Bappa Morya! May Lord Ganesha fulfill all your wishes this New Year and bring in more peace, prosperity, happiness and success
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