JOIN USOn the 125th year of Ganeshutsav, a controversy has erupted in Maharashtra as to who had originally started the state’s premier cultural event.
It is widely held that Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak started Ganeshutsav in 1894 in Keshavji Nayak Chawl at Khadilkar Road in Mumbai’s Girgaum area, but Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust in Pune has challenged this.
While the plaque bearing Shree Sarvajanik Ganeshutsav Sanstha in Girgaum -that organises the festival to date- stands as a proof to the first ever Ganeshutsav in the commercial capital, the Trust in Pune says Bhausaheb Rangari alias Bhau Laxman Jawale began the festival in 1892 and it had completed the 125th year before.
Running battle
The trust and the Pune Municipal Council (PMC) headed by Mayor Mukta Tilak, a descendent of the freedom fighter, are having a running battle on the issue.
“In 1892, Bhausaheb Rangari held a meeting at his residence to put forth the idea of celebrating the festival at the community level,” said Suraj Renuse, a trustee of the Srimant Bhau Rangari Ganapati Trust.
The meeting was attended by several prominent figures of the day like Nanasaheb Khasgiwale, Ganapatrao Ghotawadekar, Annasaheb Patwardhan, Balasaheb Natu, Lakhusheth Dantale, Mama Hasabnis, Khandoba Tarawade, Balawant Satav and Dagadusheth Halwai, Renuse added.
He claimed that Tilak’s newspaper Kesari had reported on Rangari’s efforts and in 1894, the Marathi leader installed his first Ganapati idol in Vinchurkar Wada.
Pune’s guardian minister Girish Bapat tried to sooth the tempers by saying that the festival evolved due to efforts by both Tilak and Rangari.
Undeterred, organisers of the festival are gearing up to make it special with usual grandeur and zeal this year.
Festival from Aug 25
Ganeshutsav will begin on August 25 and would go up to September 5, when the idols would be taken on
procession for the final immersion.
The BrihanMumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Saman vaya Samiti is working out a plan for the festival in partnership with the Maharashtra government, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Police.
DH News Service