Ganeshotsav 2011: Anna Hazare dominates tableaux in Pune

The veteran Gandhian, Anna Hazare, and his anti-corruption campaign have added a new patriotic zeal to Ganeshotsav this year in the city. The renowned Hatti Ganpati Mandal has set up its pandal based on Anna’s crusade against corruption.

“We have a tableau where a bhrashtachar-roopi rakshas (the demon of corruption) addresses the people for two minutes, telling them how they are responsible for his growth by giving bribes. This is followed by his walking towards the common public to destroy the demon. Anna is shown addressing people in one part of the pandal,’’ said the president of the mandal, Sham Mankar.

“After the demon’s address, I make an appeal to the people that it is time to unite and pledge to destroy this demon of corruption. This can be done most effectively by voting religiously during elections, and most importantly, voting for the right candidate without taking bribes from anyone or favouring them,’’ added Mankar.

The Grahak Peth Ganesh Mandal too has an Anna tableau. “This year, we have constructed a replica of the Red Fort using biscuits. In front of it, Anna is urging youths to pledge to fight and weed out corruption,’’ said a senior functionary of the mandal, Suryakant Pathak.