Pune: Seven Ganpati Mandalas in Pune have come together to organize an idol donation ceremony for the “Ganpatyar Temple” in Kashmir. The ceremony is being held to celebrate Ganesh Utsav and as a result, Kashmir will host a one-and-a-half-day Ganesh Utsav this year. Mr Punit Balan, trustee, and festival director of the Shrimant Bhau Saheb Rangari Trust, expressed his belief that the Ganesh festival would bring happiness, prosperity, and peace to the Kashmir region.
This year, seven Ganpati Mandalas from Pune, including Tambadi Jogeshwari Ganpati Mandal, Guruji Talim Ganpati Mandal, Tulshi Baug Ganpati Mandal, Kesariwada Ganpati Mandal, Shrimant Bhau Saheb Rangari Ganpati Mandal and Akhil Mandai Mandal, have joined hands with the Shrimant Bhau Saheb Rangari Ganpati Trust to organize a public Ganesh Utsav in Kashmir. To mark this occasion, Sandeep Kaul and Shishant Chako of Srinagar’s Ganpatiyar Temple were presented with a replica of Bappa, the village deity of Pune’s Kasba Ganpati Mandal. The Ganesh Utsav celebration will last for one and a half days in Kashmir. The Shrimant Bhau Saheb Rangari Ganpati Trust took the lead in organizing the event and the Abhedya Dhol Tasha team gave a fantastic performance.
On this occasion, several dignitaries including the trustee of the Shrimant Bhau Saheb Rangari Trust, festival head Punit Balan, the trust’s chairman Sanjeev Javale, the president of Kasba Ganesh Mandal Shrikant Shete, the president of Tambadi Jogeshwari Mandal Prasad Kulkarni, the president of Guruji Talim Mandal Praveen Pardeshi, the treasurer of Tulshi Baug Public Ganeshotsav Mandal Nitin Pandit, the representative of Kesari Ganeshotsav Anil Sakpal, the chairman of the Akhil Mandai Mandal Anna Thorat, and other officials were present.
On this occasion, Shrikant Shete stated, “Kashmir is heaven on Earth, and Bappa’s blessings are here to enhance happiness and prosperity.” This idol was given to us as a gift from Bappa, and we are giving it to contribute to a more advanced, prosperous, peaceful, and happy Kashmir.”
“Like in Pune, we believe Ganesh Utsav should be celebrated in Kashmir,” Anna Thorat said. This is the first step towards that goal.”
Quote : “In India, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari and Lokmanya Tilak of Pune founded Ganeshotsav. Today, Ganeshotsav is observed in other countries as well. So why is it not celebrated in Kashmir, which is a part of our own country? That is why all of us respected Mandals have decided to celebrate Ganeshotsav in Kashmir. We believe that celebrating Ganeshotsav in Kashmir will increase not only social harmony, but also happiness and prosperity.”