Wow, what an experience! I finally made it Girgaum Chowpatty to see the Ganesh visarjan in Mumbai, which brought the Ganesh Chaturthi festival to a close for another year. It was one huge and crazy street party, and it continued until after sunrise the next morning. I didn't stay for that long though. The crowd really started swelling by 7 p.m, and I was feeling exhausted so I headed for home.
The police and volunteers did an outstanding job of keeping the proceedings under control. Not an easy task I'm sure, as according to this news report, over 200,000 Ganpati idols were immersed during the 10 days of the festival.
You can take a look at my Ganesh visarjan photos on Facebook and on Google+.
Thanks very much to Pranav of Grand Mumbai Tours for letting me join his group. There were five of us, and he also had a task on his hands to ensure that none of us got lost. He succeeded and gave us a day out that we'll never forget (including a visit to his home and a delicious lunch cooked by his mom). Read my review of the tour here.
Photo copyright Sharell Cook.