A Festival for All to Thrive? How Ganesh Chaturthi Impacts Local Businesses!

One evening, ahead of the biggest celebrations in Mumbai, we stumbled upon an artist who migrated from his native village just to make murtis during Ganpati. “Years ago, I came to the city to carry forward my father’s legacy and earn a living by making Ganesh idols. After 20 years, I am settled here and run an idol-sculpting business all year around," says Manohar Patil, who is a murti maker. In another part of Mumbai, Shankar Mallah a 38-year-old murti maker says he earns an entire year’s income in these 3 months by selling idols. But, sometimes, this turns into a loss-making business. “Last year, I was left with only Rs. 6,000 in profit after working so hard but these things keep happening in a business,” says Shankar. There have been a few times like these in Patil's 22 years of murti-making as well but he says, it's just a fraction of what he has made with this business. Leaving COVID days, he has seen a rise of 10 to 25% growth in his business year after year and he says, “This has only been possible because we have stepped our foot forward with time. "From the time when my dad used to sell murtis in the village in exchange for rice to the present day when people book idols on WhatsApp and pay through UPI, times have changed and so have to style of doing business," he says.

Talking about the modernisation of business, many brands like Ashnam have started selling idols online as well. Due to the rise in online users, the founder of Ashnam, Manojkumar Sharma decided to sell Ganesh idols on his decor portal back in 2014. Since then, Ganesh decor has contributed significantly to their business, especially during Ganesh Chaturthi, accounting for approximately 60% of their sales. “Our 'Ganesh collection', the second largest after Buddha, sees a significant spike in sales during the festival. Ganesh Chaturthi boosts our business and creates a strong top-of-mind recall, driving demand for our lord figures like Siddhi Vinayak, Ekadanta, and Vighnaharta,” says the founder. The good part about this festival is that it provides a scope for both online and offline models. Where murti makers have seen a 25% hike in sales this year, even online portals like Ashnam have seen a rise in business by 30%.

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates another festival during the first six days which is called 'Gauri Ganpati'. This festival marks the homecoming of Gauri, who is Lord Ganesh’s sister according to the scriptures. So, apart from the Ganpati murti makers, this time of the year also provides business opportunities to Gauri makers. Sagar, who has been running his Gauri shop in Lalbaugh along with his other seasonal business for years now, says “This festival has always been special to us as it gets us more profit as compared to other seasonal businesses. The start has been comparatively slow due to the month end when people don't have money in hand to make purches this year but we are confident that the sales will pick up as we approach the day.” 

As the Aagman (arrival) days are near, the Lalbaugh markets are filled with devotees, not to seek blessings of Bappa but to shop for his advent. Shree Ramdev Dresswala, a mandap and backdrop shop witnesses a sea of customers before a month of the festival every year, but this year the business has been relatively low for house decorations because a lot of shops have opened in the vicinity as mentioned by the owner. “We also provide decoration and dresses to big pandals so that makes up for the business that is down for household orders,” adds Ramdev. A few shops ahead Kheteshwar Electric and Hardware Store has been glowing houses during Ganpati with their lights for over 12 years but has seen a dull business this time. Stating the reason behind the downfall, he says, "People have now started re-using things as they don't want to spend much." Despite the fewer sales this year, their business is much higher during this festival as compared to all-year round as Lalbaugh is the centre of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the entire city. 

Where decoration and clothing shops have seen a decline this year, home decorators have seen a significant surge in their orders. Home decorator Parul, co-founder of Parul Creations has been in the business of decor and home designing for 8 years but started doing customised Ganpati decoration last year and she has a seen great response so far. “I started this as a pilot project last year and in a year, I have seen a massive response for customised decoration during this particular festival,” says the artist. Factors like people preferring convenience over hassle, hectic work schedules and a professional touch have given reasons for decorators to flourish during festivities. “Our business is thriving in this season as well. For the last one month, we have been stepping out of our houses at 8 in the morning and returning at midnight due to the number of orders," mentions Shalini Luthria, co-founder of Amar Decorators, which has been in this business for 41 years now. Jeetu, who is Shalini’s husband and co-founder of Amar states that over the years their business has only flourished during this time of the year.  

With preparations going underway for decorations, even the suppliers of materials required for such setups play an important role. “The sales for decorating stuff like artificial flowers and makars (floral arrangements) go up by 90% during the time of Ganesh Chaturthi," mentions Hitesh Pitroda, who runs Omkar Makar Flowers, a decoration material shop along with his father in Thane. According to him, this year, the business for the wholesale market has gone up due to the arrival of the festival at the start of the month when people have money in hand. Such is the widespread of this festival that the business is not only restricted to Mumbai but their orders are shipped to Pune, Karjat, Kolhapur and even Delhi. 

Talking about the expanse of this festival, it proves to be a breakthrough time for mithai and pooja material sellers as well and a lane in Lalbaugh stands a testament to this which has a mithai shop and a pooja bhandar next to each other. A resident and owner of a 39-year-old pooja shop, Anand Khamkar has seen Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations up and close for years of his life as a resident and a businessman. He says, “Pooja material during the Ganesh festival makes up to 50% of our business.” 

Similarly, even for sweet shops here in Lalbaug, the sales spike two times during this festival. Although it gets difficult to do business during the time of Ganesh Chaturthi due to the rush at the world-famous Lalbaugh, this husband-wife duo who runs a mithai shop next to this pooja bhandar has employed a way of serving their customers. “Since we are also residents of this area we have the access card to enter during the festivities. We step out of the lane and deliver products to our customers so that the business is not impacted and our customers get what they want,” says Atul Largaonkar, the owner of Swad Sweets and Snacks. 

This sweet shop caters to a particular area where they are well-established but there are players like Meetha by Radisson which function across Mumbai. The business has been thriving for them as well. “During Ganesh Chaturthi, our modaks significantly boost our overall sales. Customers often come in for modaks and end up purchasing other sweets as well. These days are among the highest yielding for us, says Santosh Singh, GM, Radisson Goregaon.

The trend for mithai is slowly changing and people are leaning towards healthy and sugar-free substitutes. “We Indians really find it difficult to give up on sweets, especially during festivals. As a nutritionist, I came up with the idea of making sweets healthier and started Mishtaa by Suman,” says the founder of a brand that deals in healthy sweet indulgences. Different kinds of healthy modaks like sattu modak made with organic jaggery have boosted Mishtaa’s sales during Ganesh Chaturthi as eating healthy has become the choice for many and what better than to include tradition and health for people to celebrate their festivals with no guilt? 

Another popular option for people not considering consuming sweets at all is dry fruits. Perhaps, that keeps the Crawford market abuzz during this time. Dixen, co-owner of Vishal Dry Fruits and Manish Kadam, owner of M K Dry Fruits who run their shops here, say that the business for dry fruits goes up by 20-30% during the time of Ganesh Chaturthi. “People mostly buy the mixed dry fruit set to be offered during aarti or as a bhog,” adds Dixen.

In Maharashtra, bringing home the almighty surrounded by the naad (sounds) of dhol-tasha is a tradition that is followed by many. Being a recreational activity, it also provides business to some people and a medium for social and cultural work for others. For Shivgajar Pratishthan, a dhol tasha pathak (band), Ganesh Chaturthi is a medium to relieve their work pressure and do something for the culture and society by promoting the traditional dhol tasha of Maharashtra. “We receive a lot of orders during Ganesh Chaturthi and the preparations start 3 months before that. This year also, we have seen a significant increase in the number of orders and our schedules are packed till the very last day of visarjan (immersion)," says Prathmesh, the leader of Shiv Gajar. The band donates half of the money received through orders to orphanages and the other half is used to pay the rent of the storage where all the instruments are and no member takes even a single penny home. 

Regardless of the gradual decline in the profit-making for these businesses, which heavily depend upon the Ganesh Utsav, strolling down the streets of Mumbai right before this biggest celebration gave us a glimpse of the profound impact it continues to have on these businesses, as compared to rest of the year. Manohar - the murti-maker says, “I would continue to make idols until my last breath, irrespective of the consequences I have to face, which include being kicked out of the job because this passion has given me my everything.” Similarly, for Mallah, his passion is his pride and he won’t stop making murtis no matter what. Prathamesh also says, "The naad (sounds) of dhol tasha during Gaanpati should reverberate for years to come as it brings positivity and prosperity in the air."