Ganesh festival is one of the most important festivals
celebrated in India; especially in Maharashtra. Publicized by Lokmanya Tilak to
bring people together for freedom struggle, the way the festival is celebrated
has changed considerable with time. In fact, different places have different
ways in which the festival is celebrated.
I've closely watched the festival celebrated in Mumbai and Sangli, a small town in western part of Maharashtra and there is a lot of difference in the way the festival is celebrated. The basic concept of bringing the Ganesha idol at homes or public 'pandals' (Sarvajanik Ganpati) for a period of 1.5,3,5,7,9 or 11 days remains the same as has been traditionally being carried out over the years. And yes, on the idol immersion day called Visarjan Day, both the cities have a similarly charged-up atmosphere - People dance on streets, play music at decibel levels that cross the maximum level of a sound meter, litter the roads, use firecrackers; politicians try to exploit the opportunity by providing free food and water, police try hard to control the traffic are common site in both the cities. However, the manner in which the celebrations are held at Sarvajanik Ganpati pandals differs a lot in these two cities.
In Mumbai, public celebrations involve bringing an idol of Ganesha, keeping it in the pandals for the stipulated number of days and then immersing the idol into the sea (called Visarjan). The focus is on the beauty and the size of the Ganesha idol in the pandals. There is a competition between different pandals w.r.t the grandeur of the idol and the number of people attracted by the idols. People visit different pandals offering prayers to the Ganesha idols. Some old public pandals like 'The Lalbaug cha Raja', 'Ganesh Galli', 'Wadala cha Raja' have acquired holy status where hordes and hordes of people offer prayers and ask for wishes to the large, grand Ganesha idols. People from different parts of Maharashtra come to Mumbai and wait in queues for hours together to get one look at Ganesha.
In contrast to the focus of the grandeur of the idols and offering only prayers and asking for wishes, the focus of Ganesha public celebrations in Sangli have their focus on bringing people together, spreading some message amongst them, educating children about the myths and a host of other such things. The focus is on creating picturesque visuals using costumes, lights and other mechanical equipment on temporarily built stages to depict different events of history or stories of importance. Here, as well, people from nearby villages and towns travel to have a look at the visuals in different parts of the city.
This implies that in Sangli, every year there is something new displayed on the public pandals. On some occasions, there is a depiction of a King kong shaking the stage, sometimes there is a Himalayan cave made using wood, and sometimes you have a burning train story shown on stage using toys to generate awareness of no smoking in trains. These creative activities help bring a lot of people connect and explore different things and at the same time educate people. A lot of pandals are handed over to children where they are given a chance to display anything they want on the stage. Ofcourse, there is a small idol of Ganesha in the pandals. But, the focus of attention is on the displayed visuals/ artwork. On the other hand in Mumbai, the pandals are always set in a similar manner and there is not much creativity on display. Focus remains only on the idols without making any effort to explore any other possibility. A lot of people I know have now given up on visiting the Sarvajanik pandals because of the monotony.
There is a strong case for Sarvajanik Ganesh pandals in Mumbai to try something new is creative and educational to bring people together.
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I've closely watched the festival celebrated in Mumbai and Sangli, a small town in western part of Maharashtra and there is a lot of difference in the way the festival is celebrated. The basic concept of bringing the Ganesha idol at homes or public 'pandals' (Sarvajanik Ganpati) for a period of 1.5,3,5,7,9 or 11 days remains the same as has been traditionally being carried out over the years. And yes, on the idol immersion day called Visarjan Day, both the cities have a similarly charged-up atmosphere - People dance on streets, play music at decibel levels that cross the maximum level of a sound meter, litter the roads, use firecrackers; politicians try to exploit the opportunity by providing free food and water, police try hard to control the traffic are common site in both the cities. However, the manner in which the celebrations are held at Sarvajanik Ganpati pandals differs a lot in these two cities.
In Mumbai, public celebrations involve bringing an idol of Ganesha, keeping it in the pandals for the stipulated number of days and then immersing the idol into the sea (called Visarjan). The focus is on the beauty and the size of the Ganesha idol in the pandals. There is a competition between different pandals w.r.t the grandeur of the idol and the number of people attracted by the idols. People visit different pandals offering prayers to the Ganesha idols. Some old public pandals like 'The Lalbaug cha Raja', 'Ganesh Galli', 'Wadala cha Raja' have acquired holy status where hordes and hordes of people offer prayers and ask for wishes to the large, grand Ganesha idols. People from different parts of Maharashtra come to Mumbai and wait in queues for hours together to get one look at Ganesha.
In contrast to the focus of the grandeur of the idols and offering only prayers and asking for wishes, the focus of Ganesha public celebrations in Sangli have their focus on bringing people together, spreading some message amongst them, educating children about the myths and a host of other such things. The focus is on creating picturesque visuals using costumes, lights and other mechanical equipment on temporarily built stages to depict different events of history or stories of importance. Here, as well, people from nearby villages and towns travel to have a look at the visuals in different parts of the city.
This implies that in Sangli, every year there is something new displayed on the public pandals. On some occasions, there is a depiction of a King kong shaking the stage, sometimes there is a Himalayan cave made using wood, and sometimes you have a burning train story shown on stage using toys to generate awareness of no smoking in trains. These creative activities help bring a lot of people connect and explore different things and at the same time educate people. A lot of pandals are handed over to children where they are given a chance to display anything they want on the stage. Ofcourse, there is a small idol of Ganesha in the pandals. But, the focus of attention is on the displayed visuals/ artwork. On the other hand in Mumbai, the pandals are always set in a similar manner and there is not much creativity on display. Focus remains only on the idols without making any effort to explore any other possibility. A lot of people I know have now given up on visiting the Sarvajanik pandals because of the monotony.
There is a strong case for Sarvajanik Ganesh pandals in Mumbai to try something new is creative and educational to bring people together.
Tweet
