As Ganesh Chaturthi festivities conclude, I remember my years in Mumbai. The grand pandals with their stunning decorations, the cultural programs, the fanfare and the regal immersion processions of Mumbai are world famous. To highlight this timeless festival and its unique place in the spiritual and cultural tapestry of Maharashtra, the Department of Tourism – Maharashtra Government, presented the International Ganesh Festival 2023.
And so I arrived in Pune, the Punya Nagari (city of spiritual merit), to witness the festivities. I also learnt about Pune’s contribution to making the Ganesh Festival the multifaceted cultural extravaganza it is today.
Ganesh is the God of New Beginnings. As Vighneshwara, Ganesh gives us the strength to overcome obstacles. He is also the God of wisdom and knowledge. The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated by Hindus everywhere, including Nepal, and even in distant lands like America, Europe and Australia.
In India, the Ganesh festival is celebrated on a grand scale not only in our own Odisha and in Maharashtra, but also in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa. The ancient city of Pune is deeply linked with Lord Ganesh. In the 1630s, Shahaji Bhosle regained his family’s jagirdari of Pune. He rebuilt the town, which was destroyed by war. He settled his wife Jijabai with their baby here. That baby would grow up to be Chatrapati Shivaji. It is believed that Jijabai herself commissioned the Kasba Peth Ganesh temple. The Ganesh moorti worshipped in this temple, is regarded as the gram devata or presiding deity of Pune. Since then, Pune is also known as the city of Ganesh. The Peshwas rose to power in Pune in the Eighteenth Century. In their heyday, Ganesh festival was royally celebrated in their palace inside the Shanivar Wada fort.
The festival continued to be celebrated through many centuries in temples, palaces and in the homes of ordinary people. In the late Eighteen Hundreds, Bal Gangadhar Tilak promoted the new concept of sarvajanik or community pujas organized for, and by, the public. Lokmanya Tilak wanted to make the sarvajanik pujas a rallying point where many people could meet and exchange progressive nationalistic ideas without inviting the anger of the British rulers. These spectacular public pujas funded by public donations, were also meant to unite people and increase their pride in Hindu culture. The festival went on for several days, with processions, music and sharing delicious food specially made to offer the deity. Today, Lokmanya Tilak’s ideals live on in Pune’s iconic heritage pujas.
The Dagdu Sheth Ganesh Puja is one of the first sarvajanik pujas in the country. Dagdu Sheth, a rich businessman, was a good friend of Lokmanya Tilak. He started the public Ganesh puja near his temple way back in the 1890s. Donations for the Puja were offered by mainly the merchant community and residents of Budhvar Peth in the old city. The Dagdu Sheth puja pandal has been designed through the years to proudly showcase Indias rich cultural heritage. Famous monuments like the Konark Sun Temple, have inspired the pandal designs in recent times.
This year’s pandal was a monumental hundred feet tall replica of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. That’s not all. In keeping with the ideals put forth by Lokmanya Tilak over one and a quarter century ago, they are actively engaged in social welfare and cultural development through Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust.
Members of the managing committee of trustees explained to us how they are using only twenty five percent of the money collections for the puja. The remaining 75% of the money is used for public benefit. An NICU for newborn babies in Pune’s Sassoon Hospital, a fleet of 115 ambulances, scholarships for meritorious poor students, are among their many projects for public benefit.
After darshan at the Dagdu Sheth Ganesh puja pandal, I went to see the Tulsi Baug sarvajanik Ganesh puja. This iconic heritage Ganesh Puja was close by, and I was pushed along by waves of excited people. I soon faced a huge moorti of Ganesh inside an ornate pandal, blissfully smiling down at the devotees.
When I entered, a group of local ladies were being felicitated for their achievements. Soon, a troupe of traditional performers gathered inside the pandal. We were regaled with an electrifying playing of dhols and other musical instruments. Community fellow feeling surged to the lively beat of the dhols.
Elsewhere in Pune, brightly lit pandals dotted the streets. Temporary stages had been erected in some pandals for cultural performances. I saw a Marathi historical play being enacted by the roadside. People dressed in new clothes, hawkers selling coconuts and flowers for puja, toy sellers, street food stalls, the festive mood was everywhere.
The portly Lord Ganesh is known for his love for good food. He has a sweet tusk, and in Maharashtra, everyone knows that modaks are his favourite. The traditional modaks are meltin-your-mouth dumplings with delicious sweet fillings steamed just so.
The sweet shops displayed an amazing variety of modaks. In the pandals and even the home pujas I visited, the deity was surrounded by boxes full of sweets visible through cellophane wrappings. I returned home treasuring many new experiences. Then I realized that regional customs may be richly varied, but at heart we are the same.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are the author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)