JAY JOSHI
It is not just households that welcome Lord Ganesh during Chaturthi, but the entire society-in the form of the popular Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav of public Ganesh festival celebrations. Public places in cities and towns across Goa come alive with grand pandals hosting magnificent Ganesh idols, along with beautifully crafted sceneries
or ‘Dekhave’.
Public Ganesh celebration is actually a rich tradition in itself, going back to 1892 when freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak started public Ganesh celebrations to help bring people together, encouraging unity and nationalism. Today, Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav is more popular than ever, with various local committees organising their own Ganesh. The festival was started as a step to unite and serve the society, so, how is it serving this goal in today’s day
and age?
Many different views are expressed on this matter. Some state that the tradition is helping the society in many other dynamic ways now, while others believe it is only a celebration that reminds us of Tilak’s work.
“Public Ganesh celebrations still serve to unite people,” says Baburao alias Somnath Naik, president of Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, Sadar, Ponda. “On our part, we take up many initiatives such as providing scholarships to bright students, and others. This year, we are cutting back on spending on celebrations and donating a part of our funds towards flood relief,” informs Naik. This is the 48th year of Ganesh celebrations at Kranti Maidan, Ponda. “The special feature of our Ganesh is that among the three Ganesh festival committee in Ponda, we are the only ones that bring a theatre play from Mumbai,” informs Naik. “This time, we have bargained on the prices for staging this play so that we could donate towards flood relief,”
he states.
Similarly, jayant Jadhav of Vinayak Kala Sangh, Baina,Vasco stresses that his committee undertakes many initiatives round the year. “It has been 33 years since we started Ganesh festival here in Baina. Not only do we organise competitions such as Rangoli and singing contest as a part of Ganesh celebrations, but we also organise a state-level elocution competition since the past 30 years, undertake a cleanliness drive on October 2, which is the birth anniversary of Gandhi, and hold an inter-school mini-marathon titled Run for Unity on 19 December. Apart from that, we also felicitate meritorious students who stand first and second in class X exams in Mormugao Taluka”, Jadhav states.
Tushar Tople of Mapusa Ganeshotsav Mandal also states that their committee undertakes many social initiatives from funds collected towards celebrating Ganesh festival. “We give scholarships to around 340 students, and also take up many other activities throughout the year such as organising blood donation camps, theatre training workshops for kids, etc. When it comes to events that are held as a part of Ganesh celebrations, we organise programmes that are culturally enriching and meaningful,” adds Tople. He further states that Mapusa Ganeshotsav Mandal is the first Ganesh festival committee in liberated Goa and was founded in 1962. It is currently in its 58th year
However, even as different Ganeshotsav Mandals opined that public Ganesh festival celebrations are still relevant, they lamented that footfall at Ganeshotsav pandals is falling in recent years, owing chiefly to the rise of smartphones. “This is indeed a serious issue. The footfall at Ganeshotasv is not like it used to be in the 90s,” says Tushar Tople. “People are absorbed in their mobile phones. They are reluctant to attend such traditional events, or even when they do attend, they are glued to their phones. Also, they would rather watch a TV series than attend the local Ganeshotsav celebrations. Earlier, the pandals, decorations and sceneries showcased at Ganesh were enough to attract crowds, combined with other cultural programmes. Nowadays, organisers are worried about whether enough people will attend or not,” says Tople, adding that this is a case with any local cultural progamme and not just Ganesh festival. Other Ganeshotsav committees also voiced the same concerns.
On the other hand, when it comes to the people who attend the public Ganehs celebrations, one sees an entirely different picture.
“I do not know what purpose the public Ganesh festival serve,” says Madhavi Chafadkar (name changed), a homemaker from Margao. “They are supposed to be about upholding a tradition, but they have incorporated modern party-style celebrations now. Sometimes, the music that they play is quite irritating.
On the other hand, Rajiv Dhavalikar, a lawyer from Vasco believes that such public events do serve a purpose in today’s day and age.”We are surrounded by technology-TV, computer and smartphones, and live disconnected from our local
community.”
“Such events give us a chance to disconnect from technology, routine, and connect instead with local life and tradition,” says Dhavalikar, underlining that Ganesh celebrations in their part also need to be responsible when it comes to issues such as
noise pollution.
