Drowned in devotion, citizens welcomed their beloved Ganpati Bappa with enthusiasm and sounds of drums. The 10-day festival began with fanfare and gaiety as residents installed the idols of elephant god at homes, citizens and mandals across the city carried out grand processions of the deity drawing in huge crowds on Tuesday.
The procession for Tambadi Jogeshwari , which is the second manache Ganpati, began at Narayan Peth at 9.30 am. The idol was decorated in fresh flowers. (Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)
On display was fervour and the urge for eco-friendly measures as several citizens preferred installing clay idols, rather than that of plaster of paris. According to idol makers, this year, more citizens are taking clay idols as compared to last year.
Lord Ganesh, the god of prosperity and wisdom and a slayer of obstacles (“vighna-harta”), was installed in several housing societies, that have used eco-friendly material for decorations.
“For the past three years, we have stopped using thermocol for decorations. This year, we preferred to bring clay idol for our housing society as well,” said Mandar Godbole, a college student and resident of Sahakarnagar.
Even as a festive cheer was palpable in Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country, people were busy decorating their homes with flowers and rangolis and bringing idols of Lord Ganesha into their homes. Citizens dressed in traditional clothes brought Bappa home in the morning and installed the idols amid hymns, prayers and hants of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya. Some installed idols on Monday.
Most streets in Pune were dotted with lines of Ganesh idols in creative “makhars” (decorative material).
Some citizens immerse the idols on second day while many others worship the idols either for five days or 10 days before immersing them in artificial ponds erected by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
Earlier in the day, a procession of all five manache (revered) Ganpati - Kasba, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibag and Kesari Wada- was taken out with fanfare in the city accompanied by dhol-tasha beats.
Devotees thronged vegetable and flower markets, sweet shops and roadside stalls to buy flowers, puja materials, sweets and decorative items.
In Pune, the mandals this year have made elaborate decorations based on myriad themes ranging from the Chandrayaan-3 launch to Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. Families, including children as well as senior citizens, stepped out of their homes early morning to bring their beloved Bappa home amid beating of drums.
The main procession of Shrimant Dagdusheth Ganpati Mandal was taken out from the main temple on Tuesday morning. While in the jubilant atmosphere, the arrival of Sharda Gajanana Ganpati was more traditional as the Omkar Ratha decorated with flowers of the Mandai Ganpati Mandal
Akhil Mandai Ganpati Mandal enters its 130th year of Ganeshotsav. The theme is ‘Swami Darbar’, which tells the importance of Guru tradition. At 12.30 pm Adv Parag Erande and Anuradha Erande performed Pranpratishtha pooja at the mandal. While the arrival procession was taken from Akhil Mandai Mandal, Mandai Police Chowki, Babu Genu Chowk, Rameshwar Chowk and again through Babu Genu Chowk to Utsav Mandap. Samarth Dhol Pathak and Awartan Dhol Pathak and New Gandharva Band played on this occasion.
Police personnel were deployed to ensure that no untoward incident happens during the festival.
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