Needless to add, the amplified crowd presence makes it a big advertising event too, while celebrities and politicians use the chance to improve their visibility.

So, if South Mumbai Congress MP Milind Deora was visiting mandals until 2 am towards the end of the 11-day period, Bharatiya Janata Party Assembly ticket-hopeful Shaina NC organised an eco-friendly Ganpati contest, with 112 big mandals participating. No politician trying to reach out to an electorate can ignore the Ganpati platform, she said, admitting quite candidly that money and politics are major players in the annual Ganesha festivities.

That explains the rapid proliferation of mandals too, says one civic activist: The vested interest is to grow using religion as a platform. And in the process, a quiet polarisation of people resumes along the lines of region and religion.

Long after the diplomats, annually invited as guests to witness the spectacle from a BMC-erected dais at Girgaum Chowpatty, left for home on Sunday night, as the last big idols made their way into the sea, the most terror-sensitive Ganesha season ever was over. Mumbai’s police personnel can catch their breath for a few minutes before moving on to bandobast duty for what will be an equally edgy Id.

Until next year comes along, and the spectacle becomes even more blinding.