Pune: The curtains fell on Ganeshotsav on Friday and Laxmi Road turned red with gulal on Friday as visarjan processions flowed through the day and into the night and stretched well into Saturday, lasting 33 hours and 27 minutes before finally coming to a close at 7.33pm. On several stretches, crowds appeared thinner than in previous years, even as dhol-tasha performances and elaborate tableaux kept the city’s traditional fervour intact.
Shrikant Shete, from the mandal, said this was the first such delay in the mandal’s 134-year history. This caused a 30-minute delay, which had a domino effect on the rest of the procession,” he said. Dagdusheth Ganapati on its way through the city from 4.18pm drew spectators in huge numbers amid the familiar mix of music and elaborate cultural displays, eventually completing its immersion rituals at 8.27pm. A 20-year-old visiting from Mumbai with a friend said, “This is our first time watching the visarjan here.
Such a huge crowd, but everyone was engrossed in what was happening on stage,” said Richa Gaikwad, a working professional. Geeta Mukherjee, a Siliguri resident visiting her daughter in Pune, said it was her first time witnessing the city’s visarjan. “I was struck by how the elaborate setups, large crowds and dhol pathaks brought the city together,” said Mukherjee. At Alka Chowk, Vinayak Patil, an IT professional who came with his wife and two children, said that the crowd was smaller than last year.
“We left on time, but on the way to Mandai, chariots of other mandals, parked between the Utsav Mandap and Tilak statue, blocked the route and delayed the palkhi’s movement towards Tilak Chowk. “We saw the enactment of Kantara. It was so riveting, and the actors were so good and captivating. For visitors, the scale of the celebration remained part of its appeal. Mumbai has huge idols and bigger crowds. Pune is much smaller in scale, but the dhol-tasha, lejhim, and other cultural performances make it feel more rooted, like a genuine Marathi cultural celebration. “But the energy is high. We come here to soak in this energy.”