Ganeshotsav was celebrated in the pre-Independence era by Maharashtrians, who had a strong presence in Karachi.
While Maharashtra celebrates Ganeshotsav, the festival has gained popularity among Hindus everywhere, including the miniscule Marathi-speaking community in Pakistan's Karachi, thanks to the proliferation of television channels and social media.
Ganeshotsav was celebrated in the pre-Independence era by Maharashtrians, who had a strong presence in Karachi. Today, there are around 50 temples and homes where Ganeshotsav is celebrated, said locals, adding that apart from ethnic Maharashtrians, even Gujarati and Sindhis and Tamil Hindus have started observing the festival.
"Apart from Maharashtrians, even people of other ethnicities have started celebrating the festival. They were curious about how we celebrate the festival. This is also because of Indian channels and social media on which it is shown. Families travelling to India also get an exposure to this. We get Ganesh idols from India via Dubai," said Vishal Rajput of the Shri Maharashtra Panchayat, an organisation of Maharashtrians in Karachi.
Rajput estimated there are around 50 households and temples, including the Shri Ratneshwar Mahadeo Temple in Clifton, Ganesh Math Mandir in Dholi Khata, Swami Narayan Temple, Delhi colony and Jinnah Madrasi Hindu Colony, where the Lord is worshipped. This is an increase from around 35 to 40 last year. Karachi has about 800 Maharashtrians.
"The number of people who install the idol at home is increasing," noted Sarika Kishore, whose mother Shobha Sapkal hails from Mumbai. She added that at Ganesh Math temple, a 'Ganesh katha' was recited before the idol was immersed in the sea after one-and-half-day of celebrations. Kishore said most people celebrated Ganeshotsav for a day-and-a-half and added that the locals police provided them with security.
The Ganesh festival was celebrated for the first time in Karachi during the pre-Independence era by the late Krishna Naik at the Mahadeo temple in Clifton. Gaikwad said they had installed an idol made by Naik's son Rajesh at their home.
THE FIRST TIME
- Karachi was once part of the Bombay presidency in undivided India and had a thriving Maharashtrian community of around 25,000.
- The city also had two Marathi-medium schools and the first government school started in the city was named after a Maharashtrian -- Narayan Jugannath.
- While few traces of the authority of Maharashtrians remain in Pakistan, the Marathas under Peshwa Balaji Bajirao's brother Raghunathrao had spread the suzerainty of the Maratha empire till Attock in the mid-18th century.
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