Lalbaugcha Raja

Lalbaugcha Raja, the King of Lalbaug, is the public Ganesha idol installed at Lalbaug in Mumbai for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It is shown to devotees for 11 days and then, on Anant Chaturdashi, carried to Girgaon Chowpatty for immersion in the sea. Believed to fulfil wishes, it draws more than 1.5 million people a day during the festival.

The mandal was founded at Lalbaug Market in 1934 by Koli fishermen and vendors. After their old market at Peru Chawl closed in 1932, they vowed to Ganesha that they would find a permanent home; when landlord Rajabai Tayyabali gave a plot for the present market, they installed the first idol on 12 September 1934, dressed as a fisherman. The idol's themes changed over the years until its now-familiar face was fixed in 2000. In 2020 the festivities were cancelled for the first time because of COVID-19.