Ganesh Chaturthi 2012, Pune: Pandals, 4

So we continue with Dagdusheth Ganpati's replica of the Hawa Mahal of Jaipur.

Walking through Pune some weeks ago I came across this construction site. It was huge! I wondered what is was and soon found out that it was for Ganesh Chaturthi. 

It is a replica (from wooden plate material) of the famous Rajasthan palace Hawa Mahal. Coincidentally we are going to visit the real one in 2 weeks from now;-)!

A week after, the construction was a lot further and there were already lights attached on the outside.

On Ganesh Chaturthi we could see the building in it's full glory and it was amazing!

Very crowded here!

Foot by foot we are getting closer to have a better look.

It really is gorgeous. And all those chandeliers and lights!

We only wanted to see and admire this temporary building, but the locals want to bring their offerings to the idol, so the queue is ultra long! We fortunately were able to walk around it and enjoy what we saw.

Queue.

The city and the mandals hired a lot of extra police and volunteers for crowd control and safety.

 This one too looks even better at night:

Even busier at night time!

This newspaper pic is taken from a high point, so you can see better how crowded it is!

What an achievement, isn't it, to build a replica of this size and beauty! Wow!

In the above post I am mentioning the words crowded and queueing several times.

Tomorrow I will elaborate more on crowds, queueing and coconuts....Stay tuned for more!

Ganesh Chaturthi 2012, Pune: Pandals, 3

Today we take a closer look at the Ganesh celebrations of and around Dagdusheth temple. I am sure, that like me, you will be amazed and impressed!

First of all the temple itself is beautifully decorated and lit up. 

Normally the temple looks like this:

Already quite beautiful, isn't it?!

Wait till you see what it looks like now:

Very beautiful!

At night, with all the lights on it is even more beautiful:

But far more impressive then the decorated temple is the enormous pandal they built: a replica of the famous Hawa Mahal of Jaipur. It is unbelievable!!! I ll show it to you tomorrow...

Ganesh Chaturthi 2012, Pune: Pandals, 2

Walking through Pune during the 11 days of Ganesh, you encounter numerous Ganesh idols and pandals everywhere, from small to large.

There are though some Ganesha's in the city that are considered the most famous and important. 

The newspaper highlights one of those each day, describing the history and context of that specific statue.

Several of the famous ones belong to the main and/or richest temples or communities in the city. So it is not surprising that they also get the most elaborated, special and huge pandals erected for them.


Often these pandals have a story, a theme or are replica's of a well-known building or place, like the one below:

More about this one in a separate post this week.

Sometimes the themes are religious or historic, but nowadays social topics are popular as well. This year e.g. several mandals have chosen female foeticide as their theme. (I will show you an example of that later this week.)

Other ways for a temple or community to express their social involvement is to not only set up a pretty pandal, but next to that to initiate social projects. 
One temple even chose to be restrictive in the decorating, thus saving money for help programs for the needy.

I think the one that is considered as the main one in terms of the elaboration of their Ganesh decor, size, beauty and popularity is the one from Dagdusheth Halwal Ganapati Trust. This trust (and the temple with the same name) do philanthropic work from donations and is said to be the richest in Maharashtra.

My post from tomorrow will show you what they have set up for Ganesh Chaturthi this year. Get ready to be wowed!

Ganesh Chaturthi 2012, Pune: Kolam

What is a Kolam?

From Wikipedia:

"Kolam is a form of painting that is drawn using rice powder, chalk, white rock powder and/or naturally/synthetically colored powders.

It is mainly practiced in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. 

A Kolam is a geometrical line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. In South India, it is widely practised by female Hindu family members in front of their homes.

Kolams are thought to bring prosperity to homes. Every morning in Tamil Nadu, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor of the owners house, or where ever it may be, is cleaned with water and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so that it is held better.

Decoration was not the sole purpose of a Kolam. In olden days, kolams used to be drawn in coarse rice flour, so that the ants don't have to walk that much for a meal. The rice powder is said to invite birds and other small critters to eat it, thus inviting other beings into one's home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity. 

The patterns range between geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots to free form art work and closed shapes."

During Ganesh, I saw kolam in and in front of the hotel and in front of the Dagdusheth Temple:

In front of hotel; gorgeous, isn't it?!

We can see clearly the use of powder and fingers.

Kolam in basement hotel in front of their pandal.

The materials that were used.

Beautiful peacock at Dagdusheth temple

This woman is making a kolam, that seems to become a lot bigger even.

You can see her working with white powder.

These women are real artists, as far as I am concerned!