Style’s immaterial. Let tradition rule

At a time when age-old traditions and customs are slowly being sidelined, the over a century old Subhedarwada Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal in Kalyan has kept alive the tradition of Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav started by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Even after 115 years of its existence, the mandal has steadfastly refused to be drawn into any commercial competition with other mandals.

“In this age of global warming and environmental degradation, our mandal has avoided using material like plastic or thermacol in decoration. This year, the theme of our decoration is the 50th year of formation of the state of Maharashtra. Sculptures and wall frescos have been done using paper pulp. At least more than 250 kgs of waste paper mixed with glue was used in making the sculptures,” said mandal president, Gopalkrishna Bhide.

“Sculptures like Trimurti from Elephanta Caves, fresco paintings from Ajanta-Ellora caves and forts and fortifications in Maharashtra have been made using waste-paper pulp. Most importantly, the entire decoration has been done by a group comprising youth,” he said.

Proud of the historical legacy that the mandal enjoys, Bhide elaborated, “At first, the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav was started in a palatial bungalow, now known as Subhedarwada that once belonged to Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar, a trusted chieftain of Pune’s Peshwas. During the freedom struggle in 1906 when Tilak visited Kalyan and stayed at Wada, he started the concept of organising Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav in order to bring people closer and awaken them towards the cause of freedom struggle.

We still celebrate the Ganesh festival the way Tilak wanted it to be celebrated. We don’t believe in lavish decoration and loud music. Our mandal still organises music and other cultural programmes of famous personalities like Rahul Deshpande, Deepak Ghaisas and Sudhir Gadgil, among others,” Bhide said.

Another unique feature of the utsav is that one local mitra mandal from Kalyan stages the celebrations and also makes arrangements for the decoration. Though Subhedarwada is no longer in existence today, the historical name and legacy is being preserved and carried forward by the mandal to this day.