Ganpati Darshan - Pune 2024

It had been always my dream to visit the Ganpati mandals of Pune during the Ganpati festival. Luckily this year, a bunch of expiring hotel coupons along with a long holiday to the kids' schools and wife's too, conspired to land us in Pune bang during the first 3 days of the festival. Wife is a Twitter junkie and she immediately connected with Sandeep Godbole, a passionate Punekar (is there any other kind, I wonder ?) who is a avid history buff and lives and breathes Pune's social, cultural and political history , and conducts different walking tours around the city, Ganesh Darshan being one of them. 

 

So Monday morning at 6.45 am, freshly bathed and excited, and slightly shivering in the fading monsoon's early morning chill, we were at one of the many chowks that dot the landscape of an area called the Mandai (or Market) area. The Mandai is Pune's centre point for history, where if a circle were to be drawn with a 2 km radius, it would map an area that would encompass all of Old Pune (say before 1950's). And as per Sandeep's reckoning, if a stone were to thrown from any point, it would definitely land on some place of historical interest. There were about 13 of us, thrilled and excited to see the Ganpatis, with quite a few "repeaters" who were there to re-visit and add their own bit of knowledge to the discussion as well. 

 

We started the tour, walking through the narrow straight lanes, and taking photos. Along the way, Sandeep showed us old buildings and wadas where some notable was born, or had his business, or stayed a while, or started a social movement. It was fascinating talk and engrossed in it, we soon reached the Mandai Ganapati Mandal. 

 

MANDAI GANPATI MANDAL

 

 After visiting the Mandai Ganpati Mandal, we took a walk through the actual Mandai or Vegetable market.  The building, built along the lines of the more famous Crawford market, is an enclosed but largely undivided space for vegetable vendors, where the smells of fresh vegetables filled our noses.  

 

SHRI JILBYAMARUTI MANDAL

 With a quick break for one of the most beautiful Batata Wada and soft Aalu Wadi (Patra) we continued walking and listening to the forgotten tales of history until we reached Shri Jilbya Maruti Mandal, where most unpretentiously, the Ganesh darshan is open to all. The murti is a beautiful one and understated in its beauty. 

 TULSHIBAUG MANDAL

 We skipped the temptation to stop for a Missal and continued our walk and soon reached the Tulshibaug Ganpati Mandal.  This Ganpati mandal belongs to the Tulshibaug and was made up in a theme of the famed Jagganath Puri temple of Odisha. The Tulshibaug Ganpati is 3rd on the list of the 5 Maanache Ganpati or eminent Ganpatis in Pune. 

 

HUTATMA BABU GENU CHOWK GANESH MANDAL

Next we sauntered up to Babu Genu Chowk.  Babu Genu was a martyr of the Indian Freedom struggle,  a satyagrahi picketing against textile trading by the British, and was martyred. The decoration here is based on the Gopurams of the South Indian colorful temples. 

 

 DAGDUSHETH HALWAI GANPATI TRUST 

Bang opposite the Babu Genu Mandal, stands one of the most eminent Ganpati Mandals of Pune - The Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati. The respect of this Ganesh Mandal is widespread. This year the main pandal was done as a replica of the Jatoli Shiv Mandir in Himachal, and the overall theme was based around the 12 Jyotirlinga's of India.  

 

 

GURUJI TALIM MANDAL

Right after the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati, we visited the Guruji Talim Mandal, which is also one of the "Maanache " Ganpati in Pune. Looking at the crowd, you would be hard pressed to guess its eminence.  Such is Pune. 

 

 TAMDI JOGESHWARI MANDAL

Next up was the Tamdi Jogeshwari Temple and its Ganesh Mandal. The Tamdi Jogeshwari is the Gramdevata (or village Godess) of Pune, and is quite ancient.  The Ganpati Pandal adjoining is quite simple as well, but is beautiful in its simplicity. 

 

 

After a refreshing tea break we continued on to the Kasba Ganpati, walking adjacent to the Shaniwar Wada, the seat of Peshwas and Maratha kingdom.  The inner palace, said to be made out of timber unfortunately burnt down and what remains is now just the outer fortification walls and the foundations. 

 

KASBA GANPATI MANDAL

The Kasba Ganpati mandal is opposite the Kasba Devsthana. Interstingly, while the Tamdi Jogeshwari is the Goddess, the Kasba Ganpati is the Gramdaivat  (the village God)  of Pune. The Kasba Ganpati gets the first "Maan" or eminence in the Visarjan (immersion) proceedings of Pune Ganpatis that happen on Anant Chaturdashi. 

 

 

 

KESARIWADI GANPATI MANDAL

Our last Mandal for the day was the Kesariwadi Ganpati Mandal. As the name suggests, this is indeed named after the paper Kesari that Lokmanya Tilak founded and ran. Kesariwadi is the place from where the newspaper was published. Naturally the entire theme was around the great man himself.

 

 

 

Lasting Impressions

Pune is a great historical city. The old city, adjoining the Shaniwar wada and the Mandai are steeped in history, right from the Peshwa era, and continue right through the fall of the mighty Maratha empire, and was very active in the freedom struggle against the British Rule. Walking through the old pasts of the town, and guided by a passionate and highly knowledgeable person by Sandeep is indeed an enlightening trip, and we shall remain deeply thankful to him. In addition, the early morning freshness of the air in Pune lends a very energetic spring to your step. 

 

The Ganesh darshan is a very spiritual experience in Pune. Many of the Ganesh Mandals boast of a rich heritage and history. And I observed that the sarvajanik (public) Ganesh Murtis are not immersed every year as they are in Mumbai, since Pune lacks the means to do at a large scale. Instead they are refurbished every year. Most public Ganpati mandals are open for view, and queues are not necessary except for a few ones like Dagdusheth and Kasba Peth. Moreover, the public mandals are still relatively untouched by commercialisation and rampant politicisation. Whether it was the weather, or the prevalent spiritualism of the festival in this historical city, I felt refreshed as I have not felt for many a past year.