Bandra Fair – A Total Guide 2015

Tushanth September 5, 2015 Festival, Mumbai 0 Comments 103 Views

The official Feast is commended over an “Octave”, i.e. an eight day period, from the Sunday after the 13th of September to the following Sunday. Also, this eight-day festivity is gone before by a nine-day “novena” of petition to God coordinated to the Virgin Mary. That makes the Bandra Feast last an aggregate of 17 days! Amid the novena, the masses are both in the mornings and night times; amid the octave, masses are just in the mornings, leaving the Basilica free for “darshan” particularly for those of different religions.

More Info About Mount Mary Fair

Bandra Fair is a week-long fair held annually in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai, India. It starts on the Sunday following 8 September, the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, mother of Jesus, at the Mount Mary Church, Bandra. The Bandra Fair is estimated to be around 300 years old. The fair started when a statue of Mother Mary was found floating in the Arabian Sea between 1700 and 1760, which, according to a legend, a Koli fisherman had dreamt about a few years earlier. The festival of Mother mary begins consistently on second week of September amid birthday and keep going for 8 days with chapel loaded with aficionados around Mumbai and different states as well. Lakhs of guests are seen every year with wishes to satisfy and gift to take home along for upbeat life, alongside the fun and fervor of being in crown, fun and fair in windy climate pre-winter.

When is the Bandra Fair?

In 2015 the Mount Mary Fair begins on 13 September, 2015 and closes on 20 September, 2015. Consistently, the eight day Mount Mary Festival begins on the Sunday after 13 September. In 2015, the Bandra Fair will begin on 13 September, 2015.

The Significance of 8 September is that it is the Birthday of Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Bandra Fair is a festival of the yearly Feast of “Our Lady of the Mount”.

After the 8 day festivities, there is a further nine day “Novena” of petition to God for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

When to Visit

Expect large crowds. If you plan to pay your respects at Mount Mary Church, expect to stand in a long queues. The first day of Bandra Fair will have over 100,000 visitors. There is no best time to visit, however the prior you begin, the less time you’ll need to hold up in line. So verify your arrival and bear in mind to clutch your family or crew. You never know when you can get lost.

Location and How to Get There

The Mount Mary Church is on Mount Mary Road in Bandra West. Mount Mary Church is the greatest historic point here. Different historic points are Hill Road and Bandra Bandstand.

At Bandra Station, BEST will run 222 special buses from Bandra Station (West) to Hill Road and Mount Carmel Road, near Mount Mary. Of these, 98 buses will run in the morning and 124 from afternoon onwards. BEST Bus ticket will cost Rs 8 and will be issued at the bus stop before the passenger climbs the bus.

For the duration of Bandra Fair, the below roads are “NO ENTRY” areas; so using private transport to get to Mount Mary is not advisable. Expect traffic jam in a radius of 1.5 Km from the Church.

Mount Mary Road
Chapel Road
Saint John The Baptist Road
Kane Road,
Robello Road

Road traffic is restricted in and around Mount Mary Church for smooth festive functionalty between 14th September 2014 till 21 September 2014, between 6:00 Am and 11:00 PM. Local residents upon getting a valid pass from police station will only be allowed on Mount Mary Road and St John Baptista Road, Exceptions are emergency vehicles.

Stalls and Shops at Bandra Fair

The stalls that line the Basilica roads are set up by the Church. Past this, the stalls that keep running till Mount Carmel church are sorted out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While on your stroll down, you will discover probably the most flavorful desserts from a wide range of states. From Guava cheddar to Mawa Peda to Halva, Kadio Bodio and Chikki, you can get it all at these stalls that cover four paths on the slope.

While making the journey individuals with specific illnesses or necessities purchase candles of that specific shape and light them at the feet of Mother Mary trusting she will hear their supplications and answer their petitions to God. Catholics and Roman Catholics from everywhere throughout the city make it a point to visit the Basilica in any event once amid this period.

Attractions around Mount Mary Church

Attractions includes, another Church ‘Father Agnel‘ which is nearby the way, out of Mount mary on Carter Road. Checkout the Famous Hotel Taj, and Residence of Shahrukh khan at Mannat, and Next to it is attractive Salman Khan‘s Residence at Galaxy Apartment on Rocky Sea Facing area inside of 100 to 300 meters on same street. Next is Bandra’s well known Joggers Park and Linking Road for shopping.

Precautions

Expect Large crowds. On the off chance that you plan to offer your regards at Mount Mary Church, hope to remain in a long lines.
Prepare to be bumped at the fair. Likewise get prepared to hold up in line.
Expect Traffic at Mount Mary Church, Bandstand and Bandra. On the off chance that you are not going by the Bandra Fair, you may need to stay away from this territory amid the Fair.
Stopping a vehicle close Mount Mary will be to a great degree troublesome. It might likewise not be sheltered.
Based on news, it appears the danger from flame has not been sufficiently secured.
There will be numerous poor people attempting to pick up your consideration and cash.
In light of the vast people, anticipate that things will be confusing around Bandra. Do take unique consideration of your youngsters and things.
Anticipate that legislators will increase political mileage from the Bandra Fair. Hope to see numerous terrible political pennants and hoardings.

In order to identify vehicles of local residents living in the vicinity of these roads, the Bandra Police Station is issuing special passes for residents, so that they can enter the “No Entry Zones”. If lucky, visitors to Bandra West can find parking at Band Stand Road (Byramji Jeejeebhoy Road), H K Bhaba Road, Supari Tank Road, on and around the lanes of Hill Road, Perry Road and Carter Road.

We Hope you Loved our Article Bandra Fair – A Total Guide 2015 and have a Wonderfull Darshan and have Great Time at the Fair, with this helpfull Tips If you have any questions or suggestions let us know in the comments below!

Bandra Fair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The statue of Our Lady of Mount

Bandra Fair is a week-long fair held annually in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai, India. It starts on the Sunday following 8 September, the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, mother of Jesus, at the Mount Mary Church, Bandra.^[1]^[2] The Bandra Fair is estimated to be around 300 years old. The fair started when a statue of Mother Mary was found floating in the Arabian Sea between 1700 and 1760, which, according to a legend, aKoli fisherman had dreamt about a few years earlier.^[3]

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History[edit]

The Mount Mary Church inBandra

Although the current church edifice is just 100 years old, the history behind the current statue of Our Lady of Mount goes back to the 16th century when Jesuit priests from Portugal brought the statue to bandra and constructed the Mount Mary Church there. In 1700, Arab pirates disfigured the statue by cutting off the right hand. In 1760, the Mount Mary Church was rebuilt and the statue was substituted with a statue of Our Lady of Navigators from theSt. Andrew's Church nearby. This statue had an interesting legend. It goes that a Koli fisherman dreamt that he would find a statue in the sea. The statue was found floating in the sea between 1700 and 1760. A Jesuit Annual Letter dated to 1669 and published in the book St. Andrew's Church, Bandra (1616–1966) supports this claim. This was believed to be a miracle by the locals, and the Bandra Fair was started to celebrate this. However, in 1761, the original statue of the Lady of Mount was renovated with a child in her arms and returned to the church.^[4]

The Shrine began attracting devotees from all the surrounding areas of the city. Devotees used to arrive at the foot of the hill by bullock carts. Some arrived by ferryboats from across the Mahim creek. They would park their carts along groves of mango trees at the foot of the hill and walk up the slope to the basilica at the top. After concluding their spiritual obligations, the pilgrims would now move back down whilst enjoying the merry fair.^[5]

Celebrations[edit]

Stall selling wax offerings

The Fair draws lakhs of devotees and pilgrims annually. During the Fair, tens of thousands visit the shrine of Our Lady of Mount. The shrine attracts people from all faiths who pray to Mary in thanksgiving or requesting of favours.^[1] Many pitch up stalls selling religious objects and an assortment of candles shaped like hands, feet and various other parts of the body. The people who are ill choose one that corresponds to their ailment and offer it in the basilica along with their supplications.

After visiting the basilica, pilgrims descend from the Mount using the Steps on the eastern side.^[6] The stalls lining both sides on the way down offer pilgrims sweets like Guava cheese, Kadio bodio (tiny stick made of Maida flourdipped in sugar syrup and dried) from Goa, Mawa peda (thick cookie made using evaporated milk) from Uttar Pradesh, Halva from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, and the chikki (a sweet made from groundnuts and jaggery) fromMaharashtra are usually found at the stalls during the fair.^[7]^[8] Only stalls erected within the boundaries of the basilica come under its jurisdiction, all other activity beyond that is organized and controlled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Stalls line the street from the gate at the bottom of the steps all the way to the old 'September Garden' located in the Mount Carmel Church compound, which is the tail end of the fair.^[5]

Complaints[edit]

Recently^[when?], there have been many issues raised by the residents residing on the Mount Mary Road in Bandra where the Fair takes place. Some residents have complained that all the public transport is reserved for pilgrims during the fair, leaving the nearby residents with no transport. Due to large scale cooking on the roads, some residents have complained of pollution, while many have complained that mosquitoes increase in number during the fair. Also, nearby dental clinics and dispensaries on Mount Mary Road prefer to remain closed during the fair.^[9]^[10]

Popularity[edit]

The Bandra Fair is very popular in Mumbai. Every year, different political parties set up their political banners across the suburb of Bandra inviting the pilgrims to the Fair. The Bandra Fair is also popular across the world especially with the Indian Catholic diaspora. A similar event called the "Bandra Feast" is organized annually by the India Social and Cultural Centre (ISCC) in Abu Dhabi.^[11]

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