Mumbai, October 19: Beneath a war sickle moon, on a soggy windswept Navami evening, Mumbai battled the biggest demon of them all the weather. The blinding rain in the morning, which lessened to a nagging drizzle, turned parks into squelchy bogs. Causing cabs splattered new dresses with mud, shoes sunk into slush, wiping smiles of faces.
All roads led to the deity in ABC Street. Rows of cars and caferies lined the streets as people trudged though the slush to catch a last glimpse of the goddess. A small cluster had gathered outside XYZ House on ABC Street to admire the 65 by 25 foot canvas of goddess. The puja spirit had filtered XYZ Street, otherwise synonymous with Christmas cheer.
The mud hut had soaked water and the thatched sidewalls were dripping wet. But the pandal had not lost its charm. Bandra continued to draw large crowds with revelers admiring the riot of colour in the night sky. In the Nariman Point area roads were coughing smoke with stationery cars honking furiously. But even as people tripped between pandals, the gaiety was lacking.