The Bandra Fair is a week-long festival held annually in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai, India. Legend holds that it began when a statue of St Mary was discovered floating in the Arabian Sea by a Koli Christian fisherman between 1700 and 1760. This was considered a miracle and the fair was started to celebrate the event.
The festival is centred around the Mount Mary Basilica, which has undergone an extensive and significant restoration, reopening just in time for the Bandra Fair. The main goal was to restore the basilica to its original early-20th-century glory. This involved reviving original materials like wood and cast iron, which had been covered by later additions.
The most noticeable change is the absence of the familiar blue paint. Layers of paint were stripped away to reveal the original Burma teak wood on the doors, windows, ceilings and even the columns inside the church, which were previously believed to be made of stone. During the restoration, the team uncovered and restored several hidden artefacts, including paintings and commemorative stone slabs. There are plans to display these in a small museum within the church.
A new Pranam Maria Exhibition Centre has also been inaugurated across the road from the Basilica; this exhibition is a modern, immersive experience featuring a sound and light show with life-sized sculptures. It tells the story of Mary and Jesus, blending art and technology to make the spiritual narrative accessible to a wider audience, including people of different faiths. This year, some local restaurants and home kitchens have put together special Bandra fair-inspired menus.