Take a tour with Lalbaugcha Raja

Beyond Bombay is organising a Lalbaug trail that will tell you the story behind Mumbai's largest Ganesh mandal. Get you dose of local folklore and listen in on some interesting rumours too

Ifu00a0you plan to visit the famous Lalbaugcha Raja mandal this Ganesh Chaturthi, wouldn't you want to know how the pandal is built and why the neighbourhood is called Lalbaugh? If so, Beyond Bombay, a group of like-minded professionals from diverse fields, is organising what they call the Lane of Lalbaug trail every Sunday till Ganesh Visarjan. They will answer all questions related to the festival, including something as basic as how the festival acquired its form.
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A Ganesh idol workshop at Sane Guruji Road in Lalbaug, will be one of
the many halts in the trail conducted by Shriti Tyagi.u00a0Pics/Shadab Khan



Founder of Beyond Bombay Shriti Tyagi will take you on a two hour-long trail that will have stops at Ganesh Talkies, Ganesh Galli, Chivda Galli, Lal Shah Saheb Dargah, Hanuman Theatre, and Navroze Baug. Here, local folklore will be unearthed and interesting rumours revealed. How did Lalbaug get its name? Tyagi says, "Some say Lalbaug gets its name from the Lal Shah Dargah which is surprising since most people associate it with the Hindu festival, Ganesh Chaturthi. Others say it was named after the house of Pestonji Wadia, which was built in the 19 century and today houses the Parsi colony."

Tyagi is thorough in her research but she is also unconventional. Since digging up information from a library would not add the zing that local hearsay can, she also spent time listening to the stories, residents and shop vendors in the neighbourhood had to tell.

"We try to recreate the area and how it has changed. So I spent time with locals and gathered information from them. Some of the information might just be rumours, but I try to put them into perspective. I like to give all versions, true as well as untrue. So long as the untrue ones are also interesting," she laughs.

Find out about the eco-friendly Ganesh Makhra exhibition, the transformation of the Lalbaugcha Raja site and even the inside scoop on United Mills. Other trails organised by Beyond Bombay include Bookworming, which takes you on a trail of areas mentioned in books like Maximum City, Shantaram, etc. There is also Gallery Hopping for art lovers, Thali Tripping for foodies and Go Filmy for movie buffs.

To attend call 98677 64409 or log on to www.beyondbombay.in. The timing of the trail will be decided on calling Tyagi.