Fiona Fernandez: God is in the details

Bhau Rangari Ganesh TrustThe lady constable directed us with a polite Saral that was nearly lost amid the bustle and din around us Devotees visitors and tourists were requested to leave their vehicles behind a point to make way in one direction It made our mission in halting rain even more special as we were able to soak in the sights and sounds having to negotiate only one kind of traffic We were in the heart of old Pune near Shaniwarwada to visit possibly Indias oldest Ganesh mandal that was set up 126 years ago by medical practitioner Bhau Javale popularly known as Bhau RangariKeshavji Naika ChawlUnadulterated devotionFeriwallahs kohleyed performers and deepthroated vendors of every kind had dotted the main road as well as the bylanes Despite the grand spectacle around the states favourite deity we could sense unadulterated devotion in every pandal No loudspeakers blaring the latest Bollywood hits no brass bands or dhol groups competing with each other and much to our delight all the idols ndash big and small ndash were in full display to the public eye In fact with no eyecatching glitzy signage we very nearly missed the Bhau Rangari Ganpati Trust pandal A timely query to a shopkeeper saw us make a quick uturn to head into a nondescript gully Above us a mime skit on the evils of cyber crime was being enacted on a massive stage by a bunch of youth as a voiceover in Marathi ensured passersby followed proceedingsUntouched by timeAs we walked further into the gully the sounds from the main road faded away All of a sudden out of nowhere our eyes spotted a banner at a smallish pandal that mentioned its significance Only then did we realise that we had reached the right spot The idol was a lot tinier than we had anticipated Around us residents of the peaceful middleclass neighbourhood seemed untouched by the need to showcase the landmark On the contrary we spotted them entertain guests in the mandals old office and bond over the festival in true community style The rickety staircases the door knobs and the house numbers of the area also seemed untouched by timeA few days later we were back on the Ganpati trail This time we were at Keshavji Naik Chawl in Girgaum where Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the Ganeshotsav 125 years ago The chawl surrounding the main idol was decked up in simple lighting handmade rangolis of all shapes and sizes were displayed by its residents and children hopped around offering devotees and visitors prasad from stainless steel thaalis Aajis and ajobas seated on plastic chairs watched goingson from their porchesLilting traditional bhajans played softly in the background Even the deacutecor complimented the architecture of the chawl ndash simple and effective with community written all over A far cry from what we had witnessed during our commute halfway across the city to reach the iconic mandal As the friend spent moments in prayer yours trulys attention was drawn by perhaps the lone sign of changing times in this pocket that lay cocooned in the past ndash a poster mentioned a Facebook page a Twitter handle and an official website of the mandalSpreading an ideaAt both locations as we spent a few moments taking it all in it dawned on us That mention of the origins of Ganeshotsav in our history textbooks was making perfect sense finally This must have been how Maharashtras enlightened minds had envisioned Ganeshotsav ndash as a platform to spread a common idea and strengthen community bonding They were certainly way ahead of their timesmiddays Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the citys sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayana Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom