Immersed in Ganpati festivities
AS a North Indian, I grew up watching poignant images of Ganpati visarjan on television. Visuals of teary-eyed people immersing idols of Lord Ganesha would astonish and overwhelm me.
Cut to 2024, I am in Pune, and that too during that time of the year when the city reverberates with dhol tashas and the chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya.
I shifted to this city last year, when religious tempers were running high in parts of India. The harmony with which people of different religions reside here surprised me no end. And this spectacle of religious accommodation and coexistence is visible in every nook and cranny of Maharashtra.
Sometime back, I visited Konkan villages for a sojourn. The houses of Hindus, Muslims and Christians were stacked against one another — a rare display of harmonious living in these times of communal polarisation. The residents lived together as a community. Temples were built adjacent to mosques — a heartening sight indeed.
The 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi are marked by a vibrant spirit. Huge pandals adorn chowks, while devotees swarm the streets. The sound of conch shells sums up the buzz in the city. It is the only time in Pune when people don’t rue getting stuck in traffic jams. The evenings exude an air of positivity.
Captivated by the Marathi culture and enchanted by dazzling idols, I hosted Ganpati celebrations for the first time. Unaware of the rituals, I took help from my Marathi neighbours, who guided me about the ceremony. We kept a Ganpati idol for three days and immersed it later at a community pandal set up by the Municipal Corporation for the visarjan. The immersion evoked a plethora of emotions.
In a touching display of inclusivity, just next in line to us was a Sikh family performing Ganesh aarti with great vigour. They were all in tears. Their tiny tot was caressing the idol with love, not willing to part with it.
On another occasion, we happened to visit a pandal that was being decorated by Muslim workers, further showcasing the festival’s ability to unite people from diverse backgrounds. Such is the charm of Ganpati festivities.
Introduced by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and later patronised by Lokmanya Tilak, Ganesh Chaturthi was meant to present a united front to the British. Even today, the festival upholds its objective of unity.
