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Waiting for Ganesha's arrival

On Sunday, members of Maharashtra Mandal will gather to celebrate yet another Ganesotsav in the city

WITH GAIETY All members participate in the `visarjan'

`Ganapati Bappa Morya, Phudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya,' chanted members of Maharashtra Mandal in the city as they immersed the idol of Ganesha in the sea, awaiting his visit the following year ...

On Sunday, the members will gather to celebrate yet another Ganesotsav in the city. They have been doing so since 1968 in their adopted homeland - Thiruvanathapuram.

Of course, Marathi speaking people have been living in the city for the past hundred years if not more - prominent among them being Dewan Sir Madhav Rao whose statue is located in front of the Secretariat, Ram Rao, the Venkatrao family and so on.

The beginning

Way back in 1966-67, six or seven families from various parts of Maharashtra arrived in the city on Government assignments. The Gowarikars, Ranes, Kulkarnis, Abhyankars, Somans, Kales, the Shrikhandes and some others adapted quickly to their new surroundings and Dr. Pramod Kale even celebrated Onam in the first week of his arrival.

Dr. Vijay Kulkarni, first secretary of the Maharashtra Mandal, recalls, "While assimilating the local customs and participating in Onam and Vishu celebrations we also wanted to preserve our traditions. Thus with the late Abhyankar as its first president, the Maharashtra Mandal was formed on August 11, 1968 with 30 members. Today the Mandal has many non-Maharashtrians, including some Malayalis, as its members."

Dressed in their traditional `Navwari' or the nine-yard sari, adorned with the `Nath' or the nose ring that is traditionally set with pearls and red and white stones along with `Todas' and `Patlis' jingling on their wrists and the traditional `Vati Mangalsutra' the women perform `Aarti' to Ganesha.

Says Dr. D.S. Rane, "Well known artistes like Bhimsen Joshi, Amol Palekar and Shabana Azmi were invited by the Mandal to participate in the festivities." Eminent artistes like Jitendra Abhisheki, Ustad Mansoor Ali Khan P and Prabha Atre have also performed at the Mandal's `Ganeshotsav.'

On the last day is the `visarjan' or the immersion of the idol in water. This is done at places like Vizhinjam, Neyyar Dam, Aruvikara or the Veli Boat Club. The procession starts from where the idol is installed and all members participate in the proceedings with devotion and gaiety.

Says Neelima Dolas, a teacher in Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Manavila, "The Maharashtra Mandal gave us a sense of belonging when we arrived in 1982 in the city. What struck us most was that the Mandal comprised Malayalis and Maharashtrians."

K.R. Menon and his wife Shasikala, a Maharashtrian, who returned to Kerala after stints in various places in India says, "One of the assets of the Mandal is that it is a meeting ground for making friends and sharing cultural experiences."

Monthly meetings

Madhav Dhekne who joined the mandal in 1983 reminisces, "The monthly meetings hosted by one of the members invariably included music programmes by members with M.N. Keskar rendering classical melodies. The well known singer Preeti Sagar too had joined in on one of the festive occasions," he said.

Dr. Rane, who will host the Ganesh Puja at his house this year says, "The idea behind forming the Mandal and celebrating the Ganesha festival was to be in touch with our roots and traditions especially for the younger generation. At one time, the Mandal had an eight-page quarterly magazine called `Ruthuchakra.""

While the Maharshtrian Mandal today has less than 60 members, "the highest participation in the Ganesh Chaturthi festival was in the year 1973 when the unit of the Maratha Regiment was posted at Pangode under Maj. Gen. D'Souza" he reminisces as he eagerly awaits the arrival of Lord Ganesha.

DEVAYANI MEDHEKAR

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