This story is from September 22, 2016

Feast, festivities and fervour at Raje Bhonsle’s Maskarya Ganpati

The pomp and grandeur of Ganeshotsav has come to an end for all, but the heirloom brass and silver chandelier at the Bhonsle palace that bear witness to a bygone era, have come alive at the majestic celebration of Maskarya Ganpati utsav these days.
Feast, festivities and fervour at Raje Bhonsle’s Maskarya Ganpati
The pomp and grandeur of Ganeshotsav has come to an end for all, but the heirloom brass and silver chandelier at the Bhonsle palace that bear witness to a bygone era, have come alive at the majestic celebration of Maskarya Ganpati utsav these days.
The pomp and grandeur of Ganeshotsav has come to an end for all, but the heirloom brass and silver chandelier at the Bhonsle palace that bear witness to a bygone era, have come alive at the majestic celebration of Maskarya Ganpati utsav these days. Continuing with this 261-year-old royal tradition, scion of Bhonsle family, Raje Mudhoji, has installed two idols of Lord Ganesha in the courtyard of his wada in Mahal and we give you a glimpse of this magnificent 11-day Ganesh puja celebrated during pitra paksh.
Read on…
Unique to Nagpur
This tradition, also known as Hadpakya Ganpati utsav, is unique to Nagpur and Vidarbha. Though it has been followed at a few more places in Mahal area in the city of late, the one at the Bhonsle wada remains the biggest and the best. “Over 2.5 lakh people are expected to visit our palace in 11 days. This tradition was started by Raje Khandoji Maharaj Bhonsle in 1755 here with a 21 ft tall and 12-handed idol of Lord Ganesha. When the king and his army returned home after a victorious battle over a tyrannous king in Bengal, Ganesh puja was nearing its end, but Raje who prayed to Bappa for his victory, installed the idol at the palace and this is how this tradition began,” shared Mudhoji.
A symbol of unity
This Ganesh festival is also significant for all the communities as it binds people of all faith and promotes communal harmony. “When King Khandoji fought the battle against the king of Bengal, several Muslim warriors were part of his army too. And since 1755, Hindus and Muslims are celebrating this victory over evil together with this festival. 50 per cent of devotees here are Muslims who celebrate this festival with same zeal and fervour as their Hindu brothers and sisters. They take part in the aarti rituals too. In fact,
Lokmanya Tilak, who visited Nagpur and saw these celebrations, wrote about it in his newspaper Kesari that he was inspired to start the trend of sarvajanik utsav,” said Haji Sayyed Shabbir, one of the devotees.
An array of cultural activities
While the rituals have their own splendour, devotees get to witness many cultural programmes too. “There is a lot of fun and enjoyment lined-up here for the devotees with programmes like mimickry, khadi gammat, lavani, qawwali etc., wherein local artistes will present some wonderful programmes. And because of these programmes, the event has earned the title of Maskarya Ganpati,” said advocate Pradip Deshmukh, one of the organisers, who went on to add, “People from all walks of life savour mahaprasad together at the end of the festival.”
Royal rituals
With this festival, devotees get a change to witness royal rituals of the Bhonsle family. “The current idol of Lord Ganesha is in the avatar of warrior king Shivaji Maharaj holding our family sword and there’s a small Ganesha idol with 12 hands placed on the right side of the big idol with a mushak vahan made with pure silver. Devotees also call this Ganesha as ‘Mannat ka Ganpati’ and many of them leave jewellery and valuables to express their gratitude when their wishes are granted. The prasad, flowers and the puja items are kept only on the heirloom silverware of our family,” said Mudhoji.
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