Lalbaugcha Raja donations: Day 3 auction crosses Rs1 crore

On the third day of the auction of gold and silver donations made by devotees to Lalbaugcha Raja, the value of gifts crossed Rs1 crore.

On Sunday, the second day of the auction, bidders bought Rs 40 lakh worth of gold and silver articles. On the first day, the value of the auctioned items reached Rs 50 lakh.

On Monday, the items offered to bidders included two giant bangles weighing over 100 gm each, silver models of houses, chatris or ornamental umbrellas in silver, a two-metre long silver necklace, a replica of a human palm in gold and a 610-gm gold necklace gifted to the deity.

Last year, the value of gold and silver donations sold to bidders was Rs1.75 crore. Members of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav mandal predict that the value of auctioned items this year could cross that figure.

The mandal was set up in 1934. Though the decorations at the pandal are more modest compared to others in the vicinity like Lalbaug Market Ganesh, Lalbaugcha Raja is the city’s most visited. Last year, around 1.25 crore devotees visited the pandal.

This year, the figure must have crossed 1.5 crore.

Most visitors come because of the belief that prayers and favours asked from the deity are fulfilled. When their prayers are granted, devotees leave gifts as thanksgiving. Apart from the gifts in gold and silver, they also leave huge amount of cash. Last year, they left around Rs4.5 crore in donations. This year’s collection is yet to be completely counted but has crossed Rs6 crore.

Satish Khankar, mandal president, said that during this Ganeshotsav, devotees filled eight hundis or boxes with gold and silver gifts.

“We chose around 300 of the most attractive items for the auction. The rest of the gold and silver will be melted into coins that are later sold to devotees,” he said.

The gold coins will be available in weights of five to 25 gm. Silver coins will be minted in weights of five to 50 gm. “We make five-gm coins so that even devotees with modest means can buy a coin,” said Sudhir Salvi, secretary of the mandal.

Bidders have to pay cash to claim their successful bids. For most of them gathered to buy the precious offerings, high bids were not a deterrence. Sometimes, the final bids offered for items like silver and gold Ganesh idols is much higher than the actual value of the gold used to make the pieces.

On Monday, when the bidding began around 6 pm, the offers were on the higher side. For instance, a four-gram gold ring with an embossed Ganesh image was sold for Rs16,000 — a third higher than the market price of gold used to make the ring. “The weight of the silver or gold has nothing to do with the items’ final prices. What’s important is that you are carrying home an auspicious memento,” said Beena Soni, a housewife from Parel.

The proceeds from the auction and cash donations are used to fund welfare schemes like education for poor students and medical aid.