Bappa’s – Lord Ganesha Blessings,
Verified by UPI
The Citizen Advocate Summary: Declaring
April 11 as Safe ePay Day
Proposing April 11 as Safe ePay
Day to mark UPI’s pilot launch on April 11, 2016, by NPCI with 21 banks,
initiated by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan in Mumbai. This initiative celebrates UPI’s
seamless integration of banking and merchant payments.
April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay
Day’,
Yes,
April 11 is vacant in the UN Observance Day calendar
----------------------------------------------
๐ธ “Bappa Morya,
Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya — Safe eDonations for a Digital Age”
✨ Introduction: When Chants Meet Change
The final day of Ganesh
Chaturthi is always bittersweet. The air is electric — dhol-tasha rhythms,
gulaal in the air, devotees dancing shoulder-to-shoulder. Yet, there’s also a
lump in every throat. Because today is Visarjan, when we say farewell to
our beloved Ganpati Bappa.
As the idol slowly makes its way
to Girgaon Chowpatty in Mumbai, or Sagar Vihar in Vashi, one chant drowns out
the drums:
“Ganpati Bappa Morya ๐, Pudchya
Varshi Lavkar Ya ⏳!”
It is a chant of love and hope. A
goodbye that’s not final, but a promise — “Come back soon, Bappa!”
But here’s a thought ๐ก: What if this chant also
pointed us towards a new way of giving? What if, along with modaks and flowers,
we offered something just as important: safe digital donations? Imagine
a world where every Ganesh mandal had its own verified UPI ID. Devotion
would still be timeless, but giving would be safer, faster, and more
transparent.
Let’s explore this vision
together — blending faith, fintech, and farewell.
๐ธ Part 1: The Personality of the
Chant
“Bappa Morya, Pudchya Varshi
Lavkar Ya” is more than a line — it is a philosophy.
✨ Devotion
→ We call
him “Bappa,” a father, not a distant deity.
❤️ Affection → We long
for his return, like family.
⏳ Hope → Even in
goodbye, we look forward.
๐ค Collective Spirit → One
chant, millions of voices.
๐ Citation: Cultural historians trace
the “Morya” to Morya Gosavi, a 14th-century saint from Chinchwad, whose
devotion to Ganesha made this chant eternal 1.
Now, think of payments:
- Devotion = Trust in
the system.
- Affection = Security
that protects us.
- Hope = Reliability
that money reaches.
- Collective = Networks
that connect us.
Faith and finance, surprisingly,
share the same DNA.
๐ธ Part 2: Visarjan — The Farewell
That Is a Beginning
When Bappa is immersed, people
cry, but they also dance. It’s a paradox only Indians understand — sorrow and
celebration together. Because Visarjan is not the end. It’s the start of
waiting.
๐ก Payments too must follow this rhythm. When
money leaves your hands, it should not vanish in uncertainty. It should return
safely — either as acknowledgment, or as blessings.
Cash can disappear. Cheques can
bounce. But UPI? It’s like Visarjan with a promise: the transaction leaves, but
the confirmation comes back instantly.
๐ Citation: NPCI reported that in July
2025, UPI processed over 15 billion transactions, proving its role as
India’s most trusted payment channel 2.
So, just as we trust Bappa to
return, we must trust safe payments to return.
๐ธ Part 3: The Current Reality of
Donations
Today’s donation landscape:
๐ต Cash → Still
dominant, but risky (theft, counterfeit).
๐ Cheques → Safer,
but slow (clearance delays, bounces).
๐ฑ Unverified QR codes
→
Fraudsters pasting fake stickers near donation boxes.
Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja
alone receives donations worth crores annually 3.
Managing it in cash means massive counting and security challenges.
Navi Mumbai mandals in Vashi or
Nerul face similar issues on a smaller scale. Safe, transparent donation
systems remain elusive.
๐ธ Part 4: What if Bappa Had a UPI
ID?
Now, imagine this future.
๐ Every registered mandal has a verified
UPI ID linked to its bank account.
Examples:
- lalbaugcharaja@upi
- siddhivinayaktrust@upi
- nerulbappa@upi
Devotees can:
- Scan a QR at the pandal.
- Donate from home in Nagpur or New Jersey.
- Get an instant receipt ๐ฉ.
✨ Benefits:
- Safety — No theft, no counterfeit
notes.
- Transparency —
Every rupee logged.
- Convenience — No queues, no
envelopes.
- Inclusivity — NRIs and global
devotees included.
๐ก Devotion meets digital.
๐ธ Part 5: Comparison — Today vs
Tomorrow
The Tomorrow is not far, it is on
the way.
|
Aspect |
Current Practice |
Future with UPI ID |
|
Donation Mode |
Cash / Cheque |
Digital (UPI, QR, ID) |
|
Safety |
Theft, counterfeit risk |
Encrypted, verified |
|
Transparency |
Manual bookkeeping |
Instant audit trail |
|
Convenience for Devotee |
Queues, delays |
Donate anytime, anywhere |
|
Global Access |
On-site only |
NRIs and global devotees can
participate |
๐ Citation: RBI has consistently
flagged risks in cash-heavy religious donations, urging digitisation for
transparency 4.
๐ธ Part 6: Global Parallels
Faith is going digital worldwide:
- US Churches →
Apps for tithing.
- Singapore Temples →
NETS QR payments accepted.
- Tirupati (India) →
Online portals for donations and bookings 5.
If Tirupati can do it, why not
every Ganesh mandal? If a devotee in London can livestream aarti, why shouldn’t
they also send a safe UPI donation?
๐ธ Part 7: Mumbai & Navi Mumbai
as Pilots
Mumbai’s grandeur and Navi
Mumbai’s agility make them the perfect pilots.
๐ก Proposal:
- Start with 10 mandals (Lalbaug,
Girgaon, Vashi, Nerul).
- Roll out official UPI IDs.
- Educate devotees with banners, announcements,
volunteers.
- Track results →
donation volume, transparency, safety.
If successful, scale across
Maharashtra, then nationwide.
๐ธ Part 8: The Blessing of Safe
Giving
Donations aren’t mere money. They
are prayers wrapped in rupees.
- A ₹11 offering from a child deserves the same
safety as a ₹1 lakh cheque.
- With safe eDonations:
- Mandals can fund blood donation camps
๐ฉธ.
- Support education drives ๐.
- Promote eco-friendly Ganeshotsav ๐ฟ.
✨ “Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya” then means: not just
return soon, Bappa, but return with blessings multiplied through safe giving.
๐ธ Part 9: Payment Channels as
Mandal Expressions
|
Chant Emotion |
Festival Expression |
Payment Parallel |
|
Devotion ๐ |
Aartis, offerings |
Net Banking (traditional,
steady) |
|
Affection ❤️ |
Sharing modaks with family |
UPI (instant, loved, personal) |
|
Hope ✨ |
“Pudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya” |
Auto-pay & Recurring
donations |
|
Collective Unity ๐ค |
Procession chants, immersion |
Card networks (Visa, RuPay,
MasterCard) |
|
Global Reach ๐ |
Ganesh Utsav abroad |
Remittances & FinTech
cross-border |
Faith and fintech mirror each
other beautifully.
๐ธ One
Chant, Many Cities, One Devotion: Safe Payments for Ganesh Mandals
Part 10: Celebrations Across Cities — A
Nationwide Chant
Ganesh Chaturthi may have its
roots in Maharashtra, but today the chant “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudchya
Varshi Lavkar Ya” echoes across India and beyond.
๐ช Pune — Where It All Began
Here in 1893, Lokmanya
Tilak made Ganesh Chaturthi a public festival of unity 6.
Today, Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati and others embody both tradition and
innovation.
✨ Fintech parallel: Just as Pune pioneered
public Ganeshotsav, it can pioneer public rollout of safe eDonations.
๐ธ Hyderabad — The Giant
Khairatabad Bappa
With idols often crossing 40
feet 7,
Hyderabad’s Khairatabad Ganesh (69 Feet) is a sight to behold. But scale brings
risk.
✨ Fintech parallel: Telangana’s
digital-first governance makes it ripe for safe donations at scale.
๐ Chennai — Bappa at Marina Beach
Idols here end their journey at Marina
Beach, with donations supporting annadanam and social causes.
✨ Fintech parallel: Verified UPI IDs ensure
every rupee becomes a meal, a book, or medicine.
๐️ Indore — Devotion Meets
Cleanliness
India’s cleanest city 8
ties Ganesh Utsav to cleanliness drives and welfare.
✨ Fintech parallel: Indore could become the “cleanest
eDonation city”, where transparency shines like its spotless streets.
๐ Abroad — From London to New
Jersey
From Wembley in London to Edison
in New Jersey, Ganesh Utsav unites the diaspora. NRIs often wish to give back.
✨ Fintech parallel: NPCI’s cross-border UPI
pilots 9
can allow NRIs to send safe offerings home.
๐ธ Part 11: The Citizen Advocate’s
Call
Here is where advocacy meets
devotion.
As a Citizen Advocate for Safe
ePay Day, I believe:
- If we can chant together, we can pay together
— safely.
- If we can trust Bappa with our prayers, we
can trust verified UPI IDs with our donations.
April 11 (Proposed Safe ePay
Day) can be the symbolic date when India pledges:
- No unsafe cash boxes.
- No fake QR scams.
- Only verified, transparent digital giving.
๐ Citation: The UN emphasizes
“Financial Inclusion as a driver of Sustainable Development Goals” 10.
Safe eDonations align directly with this.
๐ธ Part 12: A Global Chorus
Picture this ๐:
- Mumbai →
Devotee scanning QR at Lalbaugcha Raja.
- Singapore →
Family donating via NETS to a Ganesha temple.
- New Jersey → NRI
community contributing through UPI to Navi Mumbai’s mandal.
One chant unites them all:
“Ganpati Bappa Morya ๐, Pudchya
Varshi Lavkar Ya ⏳!”
And one channel makes it safe: digital
payments.
๐ธ Conclusion: A Modern Chant
As we bid farewell this year,
let’s add a playful, powerful twist to tradition:
“Bappa Morya ๐, Pudchya
Varshi Lavkar Ya ⏳, Pudchya
Varshi UPI ID Saath La ๐ฐ.”
This is not just humour. It is
hope. A hope that faith and fintech can walk together, making devotion timeless
and giving safer.
Because Bappa
deserves our love. And our love deserves to be safe.
๐ References
Footnotes
1.
Kulkarni, V. (2017). History of Ganesh
Chaturthi and Morya Gosavi. Deccan Herald. ↩
2.
NPCI Press Release, July 2025: UPI Crosses 15
Billion Transactions. ↩
3.
Times of India (2023). “Lalbaugcha Raja
receives crores in donations annually.” ↩
4.
RBI Annual Report 2024: Risks in cash-heavy
religious donations. ↩
5.
TTD Official Website (tirumala.org): Digital
Donation Services. ↩
6.
Tilak, B.G. (1893). Origin of Public
Ganeshotsav in Pune. Indian Express Archives. ↩
7.
Deccan Chronicle (2022). “Khairatabad Ganesh
reaches 50 ft, draws lakhs of devotees.” ↩
8.
Swachh Survekshan 2024. Indore ranked India’s
Cleanest City for 7th year. ↩
9.
NPCI International (2024). “UPI Cross-Border
Linkages with Singapore, UAE.” ↩
10.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Report, 2024. ↩
## Call to
Action
I urge
governments, financial institutions, businesses, and communities worldwide to
join hands in declaring April 11 as **Safe ePay Day**.
Let’s
celebrate UPI’s milestone by making **Safe ePay Day** a global movement for
secure, innovative fintech.
Together, we
can build a future where financial access is universal, and every e-payment is
safe—starting with **Safe ePay Day** in 2026.
No Vada Pav, not even one bite,
Till SafeePay Day takes off in flight.
Quirky vow with a Mumbai flair—
Announce the date, and I’ll be there!
Disclaimer: - The only Joy is
Safe ePayments. Nothing More – Nothing Less.
April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay
Day’.
Appeal to Declare April 11 as
Safe ePay Day
Driven by belief in UPI’s transformative power, this initiative—free of
personal gain—aims to celebrate India’s fintech legacy and spark a global
movement for secure, inclusive e‑payments.
