Mumbai: All roads lead to Mount Mary for annual pilgrimage and Bandra fair

By Dr. Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Mumbai, 13 September 2010:  On the bright Sunday, 12th September 2010, all roads led to the Mount Mary for the annual pilgrimage and the Bandra Fair that is synonymous with the pilgrimage that takes place for a week starting from the Sunday following the feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary on 8th September. People belonging to different faiths and languages throng to this small hill that has the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount on the  top overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea towards the west  and the city of Mumbai and its suburbs in other three directions. As the day was rain-free and people having had the long week-end due to Eid-ul-Fitr and Ganesh Chaturthi, there was festive mood all around and a large number of devotees  and pilgrims  made a bee-line to the shrine.

 

There were regular Masses right from the morning and many faithful made it a point to attend the Mass in the specially arranged shamiyana outside the Basilica. Meanwhile, those pilgrims  who wanted to make offerings of flowers and candles to Mount Mary for the favours that they had received stood in queue to enter the Basilica through a separate gate, made the offerings in front of the main altar and spent some time in prayer and exited through separate exit gates leading down the hill in the eastern side lined with various temporary stalls selling right from religious articles to traditional ‘black gram’, sweets, toys, eatables, etc.

 

Up to the year 1978, the Masses were held inside the Basilica. From early morning till afternoon, the Masses which began at 5.30 am were held one after another till around noon. With the ever increasing crowd and a desire of the pilgrims to go closer to the sanctuary to have a clear look at Blessed Virgin Mary and also to enable the pilgrims to make the offerings and parents to keep their infants at the foot of the altar for a while, it was decided to hold the Masses in the open grounds to the north of the Basilica under a shamiyana.

  

 

This arrangement has been followed ever since in a systematic manner. The pilgrims, in a separate queue go up to the sanctuary through the side door and come in front of the altar, do their offerings and have a closer look at the beautifully decorated statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pray in their mind and feel enormously satisfied as their strenuous journey and long wait in the queue has become fruitful. Meanwhile, those faithful who participate in the holy Mass are not distracted or disturbed. After attending the Mass or completing the offerings, most of the people would like to visit various stalls to have a feel of the Bandra fair.

 

Unlike previous years, this year, the Brihnamumbai Municipal Corporation had auctioned around 165 stalls for the Bandra fair out of which 89 have been exclusively reserved for religious articles, such as for selling candles. Out of these stalls, the BMC earns around 20 lakhs of rupees for the eight days’ fair.  Earlier there used be thousands of unauthorised stalls creating a lot of inconvenience both to the residents and the pilgrims. The Bandra residents had dragged the BMC to court over the illegal hawkers’ menace during the Bandra Fair.

 

The tradition of the Bandra Fair has been associated with the Shrine of Mount Mary. A Jesuit document of 1669, speaks of a popular celebration at Bandra emphasising the fact that the origin of the Bandra Fair has been associated with the Shrine of Mount Mary. Before the transport was developed, people from all over the island of Salsette and Mumbai used to journey to the Mount Mary with bullock carts and ferry-boats.  It is said that the Bandra fair started out of necessity in a sporadic and natural way. The simple fair, gradually became complex and commercialised. Over the years, there has been a quantitative and qualitative increase in the magnitude and complexity of the fair.

 

The large number of people thronging to the Mount Mary has become a source of big income for quite a few. Both commercial and social institutions take this opportunity to make quick money as people are ready to spend for fun and enjoyment. During this season one enters the arena of glamour and fun. Modern technology has also contributed to fascination of the games section. The amusement parks, the shops, the sweetmeat stalls and other stalls selling verity of things have been a big draw at the Bandra fair.