Festival Tours, Mumbai

The people of Mumbai celebrate all festivals with zeal and pomp like the rest of India. Come, be a part of our festivals if your stay in Mumbai coincides with the dates of the festivals. You will love the experience which can be seen only in India. Many Indian festivals mentioned below are celebrated on a grand scale.
There will be a guide accompanying you for the Mumbai festival tours. He will explain you the amazing stories behind the celebration of each festival and take you places where the festival is celebrated with pomp and vigour. Let’s have a quick look at the festivals that you can take part in.
 

Holi, March

The festival of colours is normally celebrated in the 2nd week of March. On the first day you can see bonfires in many different places in the city in respect of Lord Prahlad who was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. People make offerings to the bonfire to celebrate good over evil. On this day you can also visit the Dharavi slum main ground at night. There is a huge bonfire here and DJK music with local dances at each and every corner
On the 2nd day people celebrate Holi by throwing powder colours and water on each other. Our guides will take you to a place or building where it is completely safe to play Holi.

Gokul Ashtami, August

Also known as Janmashtmi, Lord Krishna’s birthday is celebrated by huge crowds all over the city. Festivities start the night before where devotees throng to well-lit and decorated Krishan temples and chant hymns of Hare Rama Hare Krishna. The next day sees trained groups of people moving around the city trying to break the earthen pots that are tied at a good height. A vertical human chain is formed to reach the pot and normally a small child climbs to the top of the human chain and breaks the pot which is filled with curd, fruits and money.
The act of breaking pots is similar to Lord Krishna’s act of climbing on his friends and breaking the pot of curd that was hung to the rooftop to save it from the prying eyes of the lord.
 

Ganesh Chaturthi, September

Mumbai’s favourite festival sees people bringing idols of Lord Ganesha, big and small to their homes and public pandals. The festival is celebrated for 10 days. Our guides take you to the famous public pandals in the city to see the Ganesh idols and also to a devotee’s home (if possible). The decorations and the idols in different forms will not fail to amaze you. Ganesh idols are normally immersed in the sea or lakes after 1 /12 days, 5 days and 10 days. People are now becoming aware of the environment and are lately option for clay idols instead of idols made from plaster of Paris. Also offerings are now put into huge pots instead of polluting the sea. Beaches such as Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu Chowpatty is where you can catch the immersing action.

Navratri and Dussehra, September or October

Navratri means the festival of nine nights and it is celebrated in honour of Goddess Durga. Many unmarried girls fast during all the 9 nights to fulfil their wish of getting a good husband. Every night lights up with Dandia and Gharba performances at public venues and a few buildings. Participants dress up in their favourite, colourful costumes and dance for 2-3 hour to the Indian music numbers performed live on stage. They play in a rhythm with wooden sticks or simply dance in circles.

Diwali, October or November

The festival of lights is celebrated to overcome good over evil. It is believed that Lord Rama returned on this day to his kingdom of Ayodhya after vanquishing the demon Ravana. People normally do puja at their homes and offices to welcome the Hindu New Year the next day. Sweets are distributed and people wear new clothes and greet each other. Come night and you will see hordes of people bursting crackers in their buildings and prominent spots such as Marine Drive. The noise is deafening in some areas but the whole festival lights up the mood of everyone you see.