Richa and her husband Abhir Agarwal set up Ganapati at their home on Mangaldas Road
Richa Agarwal, who moved to Pune from Surat after her marriage in 2023, said Ganeshotsav has become an intrinsic part of her new home. For Chanchal Sah, a final-year student at Symbiosis who came to Pune from Nepal in 2023, the scale of the festival was an immediate surprise. I love the vigour of Pune’s 10 days, the way Bappa is welcomed with dhol-tasha, traditional attire and, of course, the modaks,” she said.
For Pune’s growing population of people from outside Maharashtra, Ganeshotsav is therefore becoming more than an event to observe from the sidelines. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
Since I came to Pune, celebrating Ganeshotsav this way has become an important part of our family life here,” she said. I am an ardent Ganesha devotee, so every year I make sure to bring home a small idol and perform a puja,” she said. I have never witnessed something like this in Indore, and it gives me goosebumps,” she said. “The city has slowly begun to feel like a home away from home, and celebrating Ganapati with my new friends is part of that,” she said. Here, Ganesh mandals are everywhere, in almost every locality,” he said. In UP, DJs and speakers are a big part of festivals,” he said. They should be free to express themselves in the way they want,” Singh said.
Pune: They came to Pune for a job, education, or simply for a new beginning; Soon enough, not only the city, but its festivals and traditions too became their very own, finding a place in their homes, friendships and annual routines. . Across neighbourhoods, residents from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and even Nepal are joining in to celebrate Ganeshotsav together. “My in-laws bring Ganapati home. We have aarti every evening. Friends and family come over, and we also love to have modaks. “I first came to Pune in Sept for college admission, and I was mesmerised by the Ganapati celebrations. The energy and vigour of celebrations is amusing to her. “We celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in Nepal too, but it is largely a one-day celebration. For many, the festival feels like a welcome to the city. Bhoomi Yadav, who moved from Indore to Pune a few months ago, is celebrating Ganapati away from home for the first time. “I really like how there is a dhol-tasha ceremony at every nook and corner. Yadav plans to spend the festival with friends she has recently made in Pune and go pandal-hopping. At Jena’s home, the celebrations centred around the idol and family rituals, with the first meal eaten only after pushpanjali. “What surprised me in Pune was how public the festival is. In Bhubaneswar, Ganapati celebrations I remember were largely at home, while public pandals were associated more with Dussehra. Kaustubh Singh, who moved from Kanpur four years ago, sees another difference in the way festivals occupy public spaces. “I had never seen such a grand Ganapati celebration back home. It is very different, but there is also something familiar about it. He had expected Pune to be more restrained. “I thought Pune would be more serene and traditional. But a celebration belongs to the people celebrating it. It is being absorbed into family rituals, friendships and memories, adding new participants to a festival that has always drawn its strength from the people who celebrate it. Download the TOI App.
For Debi Jena’s, who moved from Bhubaneswar to Pune for his master’s degree last year, the festival has also offered a window into similarities and differences in traditions.