Fun and Frolic at Bandra Fair 2014

We visited the Bandra Fair on 20^th September 2014, Saturday in the evening. Bandra Fair is 8 days affair which is celebrated on a large scale with lot of enthusiasm and zest.

When we reached the Bandra Fair the first thing that we noticed was the huge number of volunteers trying to manage the chaos and lead the flow of people in the right direction and in a disciplined manner.

The Ladies Paradise - Jewellery & Accessories Stall

Toy Stall

Selling T-Shirts

Stalls selling kids winter caps

The volunteers had earmarked the left side of the road with ropes. The left side of the rope was for the people to walk towards to Mount Mary Church and road on the right to be used by traffic.

Selling Aam Papad

It’s a long walk from Carmel Church to Mount Mary Steps. The entire stretch is full of people, colors, spirituality, love and laughter.

The entire road is full with stalls… stalls selling everything…. Clothes, bags, jewelry, hair accessories, belts, home-made pickles, toys, balloons, caps, watch….. There is a separate section for swings and rides. There are many tattoo artists ready to make what you want. (I don’t recommend getting a tattoo done here)

Selling Homemade Pickles

Selling Balloons

As you walk up the stairs of Mount Mary Church the stalls are predominantly selling candles, candles in different shapes and sizes. It is believed that the Church has the power to cure people ailment and sickness. People light candles in the shape of the organ of their body that corresponds to their ailment in the hope of being cured. Childless couple light candles of babies in the hope of a child. There are also candles in the shape of house, money, car, computer etc. People burn the candles in front of Mother Mary hoping for their wish to be completed. There are small kids on the road trying to see candles and flowers as offerings to Mount Mary.

Stalls selling candles and marigold flowers

Candles in the shape of Child, Legs, Home etc.

Candles in the shape of House

After reaching the top, we saw Mount Mary Church. It is very impressive looking and was beautifully lit up. The Church was full of visitors and everyone was looking at the statue of Mother Mary and praying. As there were lots of people in the Church it was a slow entry in the church and a fast exit from the church. They don’t even let you look at Mother Mary properly. The volunteers hush you out so fast. It is not their fault also; there are so many people behind you in the queue.

The exit from the Church to the main road was a nightmare. There were so so so so many people. Both the sides of the steps were lined with stalls selling sweets, CDs, jewelry, sunglasses, grams etc.

Exit from Church

After a while you start feeling suffocated and claustrophobic. We just wanted to get out of there and were just not bothered to see the stalls. It was such a relief, when we were exited from the Church and were on the main road. It felt as if we could breathe again.

We decided to call it a day and did not go through the line of stalls again. We took a side road and exited the fair.

View while taking Mount Mary Steps

Bandra fair can be extremely crowded but I'd definitely recommend visiting if you're around.  

The Fair is all about ‘Pray, Eat And Love’!