This mandal is all about women’s power

On your Ganesh Darshan trip to Kalachowkie’s Abhyudaya Nagar Ganesh Mandal this year, you will get a peek into women’s power.

On your Ganesh Darshan trip to Kalachowkie’s Abhyudaya Nagar Ganesh Mandal this year, you will get a peek into women’s power.

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The members of the Mandal are displaying statues of goddesses to promote the strength of women through idols of Goddesses Durga, Saraswati and Laxmi. They also have a light and sound show with a Marathi voiceover that talks about the issue of female infanticide.

“We feel that the lord wants us to give back to society, so every year we focus on one social message. This year, we want to promote the fact that a home is incomplete without a daughter,” said Mangesh Parab, president of the Abhyudaya Nagar Sarvajanik Mandal, run by the 3,500 residents of the colony.

“Promoting education for girls will also be part of the voice over. The rest of the presentation is a surprise for everyone.”

This 54-year-old mandal is also trying to be eco-friendly by replacing the plaster of paris statue with a papier-mache one. “The mould for the papier-mache idol will be the same as last year. We are making the smaller idol with clay as well,” said Shekhar Tawte, art director for the mandal.