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Must-have guide to must-see Ganpatis in Pune
This Ganesh festival, Pune is surpassing its previous records for creativity and grandeur, amid awareness about eco-friendly initiatives
The city is wearing a festive look and reverberating with the chants of Ganpati bappa morya and dhol -tasha. There is an increasing awareness about eco-friendly initiatives and many mandaps have gone out of the way to follow suit. They have used non-hazardous decorations and some have chosen to present performances on stage, enthralling the devotees with myths, historical and patriotic stories.
Artists and sculptors from across the state were brought in to create a plethora of beautiful and intricate replicas of traditional temples. They have put in months of hard work to make the replicas.
Some have opted for theme-based mandap presentations. While manache paach (five most-revered ganpatis) have been the favourite among Puneites, there are other mandals which are drawing large crowds of people.
Hindustan Times features some of the mandals and their mandaps to help readers make easy choices when they go mandap hopping.
Chhatrapati Rajaram Mandal
The mandal, which has been celebrating Ganesh Festival for the last 127 years, is one of the oldest mandals of the city. It is known for its eco-friendly activities and awareness campaigns. This year, the mandal has created a replica of Laxmi Narayani Mahalaxmi golden temple, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. A team of 40 artists headed by Aman Vidhate worked for over a month to complete the structure. The replica temple is 60 feet high and is spread over 2448 sq feet. A total of 22 water foundations have been created around the temple and the entire structure is made out of wood. A special structural audit has been done for the same. A total of 13 lakhs were spent on creating the mandal.
Legacy: 127 years
What’s special: Workshops, on creating clay Ganesh idols, have been organised for schoolchildren.
Location: Sadashiv Peth
Best time to visit: Anytime, but the lighting looks amazing after sunset.
Shrimant Azad Hind Mitra Mandal
Shrimant Azad Hind mitra mandal has dedicated pandal decorations to 1999 Kargil war. A total of 22 actors bring to life the tales of bravery and patriotism of Indian soldiers. The organisers want Ganeshotsav to remind people about the freedom struggle. The mandal does not for an usual immersion amid firecrackers and dhol-tasha. The idol installed at the pandal is made out of river clay.
Legacy: 77 years
What’s special: a replica of Dras war memorial of Kargil
Location: Deccan Gymkhana, Shivajinagar
Best time to visit: 4 pm to 8 pm
Sri Garud Ganpati Mandal
Kolhapur’s famous artist Nitin Chiplunkar and team have worked for eight months for decorating the pandal. The mandal which is celebrating its 75th year is known for organising social events throughout the year. “We tried to get the maximum accuracy while creating the replica of sculptures carved in 9th and 11th century in Vainteya caves. Very few know about this rich heritage and hence we decided to bring them to the citizens of city,” said Kailsh Kamble, president of mandal.
Legacy: 75 years
What’s Special This Year:The mandal intends to honour people who work for the underprivileged kids in the society. It also plans to provide financial help to kids of Mamta Foundation, Katraj. Several other social initiatives like blood donation camp was held.
Location: Laxmi Road, Narayan Peth
Best time to visit: 6 am to 11pm
Jyotachi Talim Mandal
A replica of Kedarnath temple, Uttarakhad has been created in the pandal, along with 12 Jyothirlingas. The mandal, which was established in 1944, has for the last few years been dedicating the celebrations to spread awareness about various causes like organ donation and fight against drug abuse. However, this is the first year that the organisers chose to install an intricate replica of the well-known temple.
Legacy: 74 years
What’s special: The 60-feet pandal resembling Kedarnath temple
Location: 235, Ganesh peth
Best time to visit: Anytime during the day
Bharat Mitra Mandal
The mandal, next to Modi Ganpati, in Marayan Peth is 69 years old. It is attracting children due to the 30-feet crocodile, which is part of the tableau on jungle safari. “This is the first time that we have created something of this magnitude. Usually we used to have live performances but this year, we thought of creating a world of animals. We created a jungle theme to help peple reacquaint with animals. We were ably guided by my father, Balasaheb Dabhekar, president of the Mandal,” said Niranjan Dabhekar, incharge of the festivities. It took the volunteers a month to create a this huge crocodile using steel frame and foam sheets while the Ganpati is made out of fibre. The mandal spent ₹2 lakh to create the theme.
Legacy: 69 years
What’s special: A 30-foot crocodile which has its mouth wide open. People can walk in and out of the crocodile. Children can also ride horse buggy for free.
Location: Narayan peth, Next to Modi Ganpati
Best time to visit: 6 pm to 10 pm
Khadak Police Line Mitra Mandal
The mandal was established in 1976 and has been popular for flower decorations for many years now. The mandal has created a replica of the Tirupati Balaji temple using fibre. It has taken the volunteers 20 days to create the replica with a cost of Rs 3 lakhs.
Legacy:42 years
What’s special: Replica of the Tirupati Balaji mandir.
Location: Khadak police line, Guruwar peth
Best time to visit: Anytime, through the day
Kasture Chowk Tarun Mandal
The mandal has been known for its beautiful lighting arrangements during the Ganesh festival. For the past 5 years, the mandal has being opting for stage performances. This year, they are enacting a scene from the days when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ruled. The scene touches upon the caste divide prevalent then and how he cut all the divisions. “The scene is called Shirasta shiv Shahicha has 16 local actors. It speaks about how Shivaji Maharaj maintained equality among subjects. We chose this theme as it is apt for today’s world. We want to spread the message of communal harmony around,” said Jitendra Mote, president of the mandal.
Legacy: 99 years
What’s special: There is a live performance every half an hour from 6 pm onwards
Location : 516, Ganesh Peth, on a cross road to Gurwar peth
Best time to visit: 6 pm onwards
Twastha Kasar Mitra Mandal
The mandal which was started by Lokmanya Tilak in 1893 is completing 125 years. This year, the mandal has created a replica of the famous shore temple in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai, using eco-friendly material. Artist Siddharth Tathuskar has designed the replica and it is spread over 2,400 sq feet.
“Mahabalipuram temple is has been listed as the world heritage site and so we have decided to erect a replica here in Pune,” said Suresh Potphode, president of the mandal.
Legacy: 125 years
What’s new: The mandal is organising women-centric programmes and fests for women’s self-help groups.
Location: Kasaba Peth, Pawale chouwk
Time to Visit: Anytime during day till 10.30 pm
Narveer Tanaji Tarun Mandal
The mandal which is celebrating its golden jubilee, has constructed an exact replica of Shirdi Sai Baba’s temple. The pandal is spread over 2,500 sq ft and has been created by artist Aman Vidhate and his team of 160 members in just 18 days. The Samadhi mandir has been made using eco-friendly materials. A 7 feet Sai Baba mandir has been installed inside the pandal.
Legacy: 50 years
What’s Special: The mandal has decided to donate the entire money offered by devotees to the flood victims of Kerala. Also, the mandal will offer a helping hand to schools working for disabled kids.
Location: Narveer Tanaji Wadi, Wakadewadi (near Sakhar Sankul)
Best time to visit: 6 am to 11pm
