Shree Siddhivinayak Temple

The Shree Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi was originally built in 1801 by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil. The original sanctum housed a small black-stone idol of Ganesha (Vinayak) seated cross-legged with a trunk inclined to the right — the Siddhi-Vinayak form, said to grant wishes more reliably than left-trunked Ganesh idols. The current five-storey temple was rebuilt and expanded between 1990 and 1993 with white marble and a gold-plated dome. The shrine sees roughly 100,000 visitors a day, with Tuesday — the day sacred to Ganesh — drawing the largest queues. Notable patrons include the Bachchan family (the Ambanis donate a gold offering each Ganesh Chaturthi), and the temple's annual budget for prasad alone runs into crores. The walkway approach from the western side runs through stalls selling marigolds, modaks (Ganesh's favourite sweet), and red hibiscus. Visitors of all faiths welcome. Photography prohibited inside the sanctum. The 'angarki chaturthi' (the fourth day of the lunar month falling on a Tuesday) is the most auspicious — and most crowded — visit day.