#Pune365Ganeshotsav17 – Shree Kasba Ganapati Celebrates 125 years!

 

As Pune gears up to welcome Bappa, we at Pune365 will be providing a lens to record the sights and sounds leading to Ganeshotsav 2017.

Out of the five Manache Ganapati mandals, it is always the Shree Kasba Ganapati Mandir that leads the procession during the visarjan or immersion day.

Revered by Puneites, Shree Kasba Ganapati Mandir was founded by Rajmata Jijabai Bhosale and built by her son Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

This year, the temple celebrates its 125th year of Ganeshotsav festivities which started in 1893. To commemorate this, the trust has planned a host of programmes. Firstly, they unveiled a new logo for this year that was designed by Avail Advertising, a city-based agency that was started by Avinash Shaligram in 1989.

The logo gives high significance to the palki that is designed with lotus flowers. The palki engulfs the Ganapati idol which is supported by informative text. “The Kasba Ganapati temple is known for the idol. So many people come there just get a glimpse of it. Lotus flowers are the flowers used to adorn the idol on the first day of the celebrations, that’s why they are symbolic. We have used purple and magenta and avoided the use of orange to make the logo stand out. This mandal is known for its simplicity and we have kept the logo that way too,” explains Dinesh Ahirao, designer of the logo.

The new logo of the Kasba Ganapati Mandal to commemorate 125 years of celebrations

Ganeshotsav celebrations in Pune have always been about bringing people together as a community. Ganapati mandals generally use this occasion to spread awareness for social and environmental causes. Last year, the Kasba Ganapati mandal became the first to use a water tank provided by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to immerse the idol made from shadu or white clay to avoid water pollution. They have committed to do the same this year too.

“The Kasba Ganapati mandal is traditional yet iconic. We avoid the use of gulal and we never hire a DJ for the celebration. Our decorations are very simple keeping in mind the design of the old wadas of Pune. This year, we will be conducting an awareness programme on cybercrimes. It will be held for children and adults. Every year we give an award to someone working in the field of education or spirituality. This year’s award is yet to be decided. Since the last seven years, we’ve been running a blood donation campaign. We will run it this year too,” says Shrikant Shete, President of the Kasba Ganapati Mandal.

Last year, a photo walk activity was organised around Kasba Peth, which saw the participation of 100 photo enthusiasts who contributed over 300 photographs. This year, the photo walk will be organised around the festive parts of the entire city.

This is going to be a memorable celebration as two of the city’s most revered temples – Shree Kasba Ganapati and Shreemant Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati are celebrating 125 years.

 

Vijayta Lalwani