02 . 10 . 2026 · BOMBAY · Field Notes

Ganpati Bappa – It’s All In The Eyes!

Ganpati Bappa’s eyes are the most magical aspect of his being, and also the toughest to get right.

Ganpati is Maharashtra’s biggest festival of the year; bigger than Diwali, Eid, and Christmas put together. Every community celebrates Ganpati with equal fervor.

The central piece of this festival is the Idol. Sarvajanik, or public pandals compete with one another year after year, to build the grandest idol ever. Some pandals adopt specific themes, like environmental conservation, education, etc; yet some others do not change anything at all like the Lalbaugcha Raja or the GSB Maha Ganpati.

But one thing that remains in focus is the attention to detail while sketching the eyes on the idol. Murtikaars (idol makers) say that the idol is just clay until the eyes are sketched. Life is breathed once the eyes are done.

And that is how all great murtis are brought to life. The murti in our house has been the same model for nearly 45 years now.

It is not the grandness of the pandal or of the murti that brings grown men and women to tears, but the eyes. So the next time you visit a pandal, or do darshan at someone’s house, see the eyes. The eyes will tell you everything you wanted to ask, but could not put into words at that moment.

GANPATI BAPPA MORYA!

View all photos from the Ganpati 2026 album.