Amit Shiwalkar, 48, woke up at 6:00am on Wednesday, early enough to get from Govandi to Parel by 11:00am. Like millions of devotees, Shiwalkar was determined to visit Lalbaugcha Raja , arguably Mumbai’s most iconic Ganesh idol, during the ongoing Ganpati festivities. Braving Mumbai’s brutal traffic and teeming crowds in Parel, Shiwalkar made it, carried to the pandal on a strip of plywood by three friends.
When he lost his stall, Shiwalkar lost more than his livelihood — it was his window to the world. “I got only a mukh darshan, a glimpse of Bappa from afar, instead of a charan sparsh darshan, where devotees can touch his feet. After Lalbaugcha Raja, Shiwalkar and his friends visited five other Ganpati pandals in Central Mumbai before returning home. A resident of Lalubhai Compound in Govandi, Shiwalkar is carried on a strip of plywood whenever he ventures out of his home. His only exposure to the world is when friends and relatives carry him on the plank. Now, occasional sightseeing trips with friends are among the few times he gets to travel outside his home.
He has never attended school and has spent most of his life indoors due to his condition.
I wish I could have touched his feet,” he said. “I may not be able to do many things, but I enjoy seeing different places,” he said. “Whenever I want to travel, they make arrangements and take a day off from work to accompany me,” he said.
Of the three people who accompanied Shiwalkar to Parel on Wednesday, one is a nephew and the other two have been a part of his life for more than a decade, especially after they began helping him get around after his accident.
After Wednesday’s darshan at Lalbaugcha Raja, Shiwalkar was carried away on his plank, preparing for the journey home.
He said if he does not get his stall back by next year, he will not return to Lalbaugcha Raja. “What is the point of coming here if I cannot get back my basic bread and butter?”
