Bappa in mosque: Ganesh festival fosters harmony in Maharashtra village

Sangli: A village here in Maharashtra has been witnessing a unique Ganesh festival celebration for more than four decades with the installation of the elephant-headed God's idol in a mosque.

Religious tensions elsewhere have never impacted the residents of Gotkhindi village in Sangli district, having a population of nearly 15,000, including 100 families belonging to the Muslim community, a local Ganesh mandal founder, Ashok Patil, told PTI.

Muslims are also members of the mandal. They participate in the preparation of ‘prasad’ (offering), join in prayers and assist in the festival arrangements, the 60-year-old resident said.

The tradition began in 1980 when members of the Hindu and Muslim communities decided to move a Ganpati idol inside a mosque at Gotkhindi village in Sangli district due to heavy rains, he said.

“The practice has continued peacefully since then, and there is active participation from the Muslim community. The New Ganesh Tarun Mandal at Jhunjar Chowk in the village was set up in 1980,” Patil said.

The idol is kept in the mosque for the 10-day celebration and then immersed in a local water body during the culmination of the festival on Anant Chaturdashi.

Once Bakr-Id and Ganesh Chaturthi dates coincided, prompting the Muslims to celebrate their festival only by offering namaz and not ‘qurbani’, Patil said. “They even avoid meat during Hindu festivals,” he added.

“The entire country should take inspiration from the social and religious harmony here,” he said.

Patil said the local police and tehsildar are invited for the ‘pran pratistha’ (consecration) of the Ganesh idol every year.

The 10-day Ganpati festival commenced from August 27 this year.