Why the VVIP culture in places of worship? Aren’t all equal before God?’
Why the VVIP culture in places of worship? Aren’t all equal before God?’
Undoubtedly, Ganesh Chaturthi is the most popular festival of the year. Devotees eagerly wait for Ganpati to be home.
In Mumbai, this festival has a lot of importance. The most loved and iconic Lalbaugcha Raja pandal is always packed with thousands of devotees. Every year many people coming from different parts of Maharashtra congregate at Lalbaug to seek blessings from the Raja. There is a massive crowd witnessed every year and this year too is not different.
We have seen so many videos and news about people rushing and pushing as they go to seek Ganpati Bappa’s blessings.
However, things are quite different when it comes to any celebrity or politician or any famous person arriving for Bappa’s darshan. They are given VIP treatment and they do not have to wait in line for hours to have a glimpse of Lalbaugcha Raja. They easily get to touch the feets of the God and pray for as long as they want.
But normal citizens have to wait in line for hours and then they are pushed quickly after taking darshan. They do not even get a second to pray peacefully.
A very simple question to the celebrities and the politicians why do they take darshan of Lord Ganesha at the expense of other people being pushed and hurt?.
To cite an incident,On the 2nd day of the 10-day Ganeshotsav, a near stampede followed for the Lalbaughcha Raja darshan. People including senior citizens were pushed and some even fell down. Many had to return without darshan.
Again On Saturday, 23 Sept., because of the visit of the CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, the path was cleared for them and those who had been waiting for hours together were pushed to the side.
Earlier Shah Rukh Khan was visiting for darshan and blessings of Lalbaughcha Raja and those in que at the main entrance were pushed to other side and it was only after the exit of the celebrity that the devotees were allowed to stand in the que.
Over the years many A-list celebrities and politicians have made appearances at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal.
As per Conde Nast, the VIP passes for the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal cannot be bought, however, prominent personalities often contact the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal to get special access. Special access means not just jumping the long lines, but also spending a minute or two praying in front of the much-revered Lord Ganesha idol.
A video of an actress Shilpa Shetty getting easier access to the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal has triggered outrage among netizens. On Sunday, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared a video of the actress visiting the pandal. Being a celebrity they could offer prayers in front of the idol undisturbed, other devotees who had queued up close to her were being rushed out.
There should be no easy darshan for them and must also stand in que like normal citizens.
News input KV Raman
