First time in 128 years, Dagdusheth mandal lets go of pandal over Covid

PUNE: For the first time in its 128-year history, the popular Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav mandal will not put up its iconic pandal at Kotwal Chawdi on Shivaji Road this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trustees of the mandal confirmed on Monday that besides not having large processions or dhol-tasha troupes at the beginning and end of the festival on August 22 and September 1 respectively, its Ganesh idol this year will be placed at its eponymous temple in Budhwar Peth, a few hundred metres away from where the pandal is erected for the festival.
The deity, bedecked with gold and precious stones, is kept in a majestic pandal themed differently every year. The pandal is a big draw and a great leveller, attracting common citizens and celebrities for Ganeshotsav. Thousands of devotees mill around at all times of the day and well into the night offering prayers, coconuts and precious objects to the deity.
The mandal is among the oldest, yet the most modern. It is among the first to having started accepting online and cashless donations, and has its own accounts on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
This year, the mandal’s officials said they will not accept any offerings in the form of flowers, fruits, sweets or coconuts from any devotee, nor will they distribute any prasad at the temple, keeping with social distancing and hygiene protocols.
The massive heaps of coconuts that accumulate during the festival fetch the mandal crores of rupees in an auction. Every day, truckloads of coconuts have to be ferried from the pandal to the makeshift store room opposite Sarasbaug where the pandal decorations are readied every year.
The mandal is also encouraging people not to congregate in large numbers outside the temple. Livestreaming of the rituals will be available, and LED screens of that livestream shall also be put up around the temple.
Online darshan, online abhishek and online aarti are also on offer so that devotees do not miss their favourite Bappa.
The Dagdusheth Ganapati is to Pune what Lalbaugcha Raja is to Mumbai. The deity was installed by Dagdusheth Halwai and his wife Lakshmibai over a 100 years ago, when they lost their only son to the plague.
Every year, Ganeshotsav is celebrated with deep faith and enthusiasm, not only by Dagdusheth’s family but the entire neighbourhood.
The idol and the jewellery are worth and insured for millions, and the volume of crowds that visit the pandal each year compel the police to ban traffic on the entire thoroughfare leading up to it. The sheer number of offerings placed at the temple also requires management by the temple’s trustees, as does the number of celebrity visitors.
Hemant Rasane, one of the trustees, said it is near impossible to put a count to the number of people who visit each year. It can be around 40-50 lakh over the ten days. It’s a place where all big political leaders from all parties visit, including nearly every chief minister of Maharashtra. The current chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has also visited multiple times, he added.
“Other celebrities like members of the Kapoor family, Lata Mangeshkar and the Bachchan family have also visited and placed offerings. Amitabh Bachchan came here after he recovered from his illness back in the 1980s. As for the number of coconuts placed here, lakhs of them remain till the end of Ganeshotsav. Local coconut sellers and others take part in the auction that we organise, and the proceeds go to the trust,” Rasane added.
Other elements of the festival at this pandal, including the Atharvashirsha recitation en masse, will not be carried out this year. But for long-term observers of Ganeshotsav in Pune, these are aspects which devotees will accept as a necessity.
“It will hurt devotees who gather to express their faith. But the health of the people is more important right now. This is an inconvenience just for a year. Ganeshotsav is a festival that has adjusted to everything that has happened over the years,” said Anand Saraf, an observer of the festival.