The Ganesha festival is a carnival of culture and awakening in Belagavi. The 11-day festive season sees some Ganesh mandals organising cultural festivals, and creating awareness about environment conservation or highlighting problems faced by farmers.
The Madhyavarthi Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandal, started in 1905, is among the oldest mandals in the country. It organises 11 types of cultural activities, one on each day of the season. Its activities range from classical music and classical dance to film songs and dance competitions for children. The mandal also organises painting and clay modelling competitions for children, and rangoli and cooking competitions for women.
The Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandal in Tilakwadi organises classical music programmes at the nearby Kala Mandir. Singers and instrumental musicians from Mumbai and Pune participate. It also organises light music competitions and performances of Ranga Geete or song tracks from famous plays.
This year, the Ganesha in the Bhaji Market area is focusing on groundwater depletion. While bore wells are extracting unnecessarily large amounts of water and wasting it at one end of the stage, scores of house wives and farmers are depicted to be desperately looking for water on the other side.
The Ganesha installed at Mahantesh Nagar tries to promote eco-friendly celebrations of the festival. It speaks of the need to install clay idols and urges citizens to desist use of idols and mannequins made of Plaster of Paris. The Ganesha is also seen urging people to recycle waste, while informing them that plastic takes centuries to decompose.
The idol at Shahapur under bridge re-imagines Ganesha as Pandurang Vithal. The stage is set to make it seem as if the life-size mannequins of believers are walking towards Pandharpur, while Marathi Abhangs are played in the background.
A set of mannequins relate the stories of the Varkari saints in Tilakwadi first gate. A sound and light show speaks of the lives of Gora Kumbar, Sant Sakkubai and Sant Tukaram.
Mandals have installed over 400 Ganesha idols in public places in Belagavi city. Most of them are PoP idols; while some of them are made locally, others are sourced from Kolhapur and nearby towns.