Xpressions

Yesterday was the last day of the 10-Day Ganesh Festival in Pune. On this day, the Ganesh idols are immersed in water - symbolic to Lord Ganesha travelling back to his abode. Pune being the cultural capital of Maharashtra, has certain mandals which are more than a 100 years old. These mandals carry out the festivities as well as the last day procession in the same traditional ways even today. I was lucky enough to be able to catch the first 5 "Pahilya Manache" Ganesh in procession this year. Below are some snaps of the interesting traditional festivities carried on in the procession.   The roads were adorned by beautiful colorful  rangolis. Some so huge, they covered the entire chowk...  Here comes the first Ganesh - Kasaba Ganapati - The Gram Daivat (City Deity) of Pune ... in full welcome sounds of the 'Tutari' This is the actual Deity, which is taken out for this procession in a Palkhi. There is a huge crowd gathered for darshan .. The air's full

Love this festive season in Pune. And the ongoing Ganesha festival is kind of an identity for the city. So many beautifully decorated idols are seen everywhere across the city. I love visiting the inner city areas of laxmi road and peths to catch a glimpse of the decorations.  We also celebrate it socially in our societies/colonies. We have several cultural programs and competitions. This has always been a time we kids looked forward to in our school days. In our teens this was a good bonding time which more than often saw a love story taking shape .. :). Personally, I've always looked  forward to this festival for the modaks .. :D. Our society had a wonderful program this year as well and a very peaceful Ganesha idol which you can't take your eyes off. We celebrate this festival at home as well. From childhood days, I remember working hard into the night the previous day to complete the decorations. On the Ganesha pooja day, we start the day early. Bath is a must without