As the city of Mumbai gets ready to welcome the homecoming of its most favourite lord Ganesha, the atmosphere is sanctified with these transcendental chants! The public celebration of this festival through pandal programmes rejuvenated by the Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak in the pre independence era continues even today. These pandals with their unique style of functioning teach us some interesting management lessons.
1. Leadership and Teamwork
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
Right from planning and setting up the pandal, managing the finances, crowd control to coordination of the Visarjan procession, the team of pandal members work relentlessly to ensure the success of the event. In case of big pandals, the planning and preparation of next year’s event start as early as 10 months in advance. The contribution of each member is vital for the seamless functioning of the program. From problem-solving to conflict management, these teams provide ample opportunities to learn the nuances of leadership and teamwork.
2. Creativity
“Logic will get you from A to B. Creativity will take you everywhere.”
From the theme based decorations depicting historic temples and lavish royal palaces, eco-friendly clay idols to renowned Bollywood art director Mr. Nitin Chandrakant Desai designing a giant 'Sheesh Mahal' for housing in the deities, creativity runs much deeper in each of these pandals. It is this creativity which brings freshness and renewed enthusiasm in the celebrations.
3. Brand Equity
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
With a tradition of over 50 years, some of these pandals have created certain equity for themselves. The devotees standing in queues for up to 40 hours to take darshan of their favourite lord or the new records set by the donation box counts each year, the distinct identity of each pandal is evident in various aspects. The brand equity created by ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ in Mumbai helps them draw huge audience across the state of Maharashtra.
4. Brands with a Purpose
“Customers don’t buy products, they buy value.”
The pandals through their decorations comment about the plight of farmers to Digital India. It is a good way of communicating a social message to the visitors. Many of these pandals organise free eye check up drive, blood donation camps and other such community service activities.
This is Management, Ganesha Style! How many Modaks did you have today?
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