After 18 years of waiting, comes ‘Ganesh-bhakt’ showman Rohit Shetty’s  turn to sponsor divine idol of Sarvajanik Maha Ganesha ! by Chaitanya Padukone

The “ichhapurti “ (wish-fulfilling) idol which has a staunch massive following of lakhs of loyal common-man devotees is also among the top worshipped Ganesha deity among the Bollywood fraternity.  According to Uday Salian, the spokesperson of the Andhericha Raja Samiti, it is decided much in advance. by a ‘streamlined lottery system’ as to who would be sponsoring each year’s Maha Ganesha idol.  “Actually, Rohit Shetty had booked his idol-sponsoring turn, some 18 years in advance and had patiently waited all these years for his turn. This time children were asked to pick the lucky names of aspiring future sponsors. Now, the sponsorship is booked right up to the year 2066, “informs Uday Salian.

A large galaxy of Bollywood star-actors, models and  actresses including  Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut, Shatrughan Sinha, Ranjeet, Suniel Shetty, Nana Patekar, Anup Jalota, Raveena Tandon, Sonam Kapoor, Urvashi Rautela, Sakshi Tanwar, Shefali Zariwala   and many more  celebs , during the past several years, ( long before the Corona pandemic had set in) have religiously visited the Andhericha Raja pandal for  ‘darshan’ and ‘aarti-prasaad’ .  It’s the  only Sarvajanik idol ( now  in Mumbai that is immersed on 'Sankashti’-day,   few days  after Ananth Chaturdashi (the final day when all other idols are immersed.)   In the  56^th year  (2021), the organizers-trustees had bid farewell to Andhericha Raja on the auspicious Sankashti day. The Ganesha celebrations in 2020 and 2021 were in strict compliance with  Covid-19 safety restrictions as announced by the BMC officials.

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