Being perhaps the senior most member of Maharashtra Mandal, Chandigarh, I take this opportunity to share & write something about through this article. When it comes to recollecting as to how the present Maharashtra Mandal of Chandigarh came into existence, my memory dates back to the year 1961–62 when Sh. Kaka Sahib Gadgil – a Maharashtrian himself, was the then Governor of joint Punjab and I had just arrived in Chandigarh to take up a job with Punjab University (in the Sr. Architect's office).
The early sixties
In the early sixties, there was hardly a handful of Marathi population (that too the floating one) in Chandigarh. Off & on this small community of about fifteen families would celebrate Dussehra, Makar Sankranti etc. It's quite natural that when you come to a strange city or a state or for that matter even to a country, there is always a strong urge to meet the people of your own origin with whom you could not only share things in your mother tongue but also feel mentally a little secure.
As such, the idea to establish Maharashtra Mandal in Chandigarh was mooted in the year 1962 with the blessings of Sh. Kaka Sahib Gadgil who encouraged that small population of Maharashtrians at that time to go for it. I still remember that at the time of giving ceremonial farewell to Sh. Gadgil in October 1962, the first ever Marathi play was organized by Mrs. Rangnekar, Ms. Borkar, Mr. Pimple and myself. There were about fifteen to twenty Marathi families who had come to reside in the civil area only.
Well, on one nice evening in February 1963, four/five families had gathered at one of the families' place and it was finally decided to establish Maharashtra Mandal in Chandigarh. Now there was no looking back and these families started gathering at each other's residences over lunch or dinner, mostly on Sundays & holidays, to discuss the modalities. You will be amused to know but it's true that in the beginning it started with just a meagre collection of 25 paise per head to organize a get-together over a cup of tea with some light snack like poha. With this kind of frequent rounds of interaction amongst the Maharashtrian families, the circle had started growing.
Just to give you an introduction of our Marathi families/members in Chandigarh during that period, who were instrumental in establishing the present Maharashtra Mandal: Dr. Rangnekar (HOD/Economics, P.U.), Mr. Pimple (Deptt. of Sociology/P.U.), Dr. Waghmare (Deptt. of Psychology/P.U.), Dr. Dev (Punjab Engg. College), Dr. Prabhawalkar (Principal, Chandigarh College of Architecture), myself & Mr. Mande (Deptt. of Town Planning, Capital Project of Chandigarh), Mr. Marathe (Pfizer), Mr. Bijur (Joint Director), and the people like Sh. Rajadhyaksha, Mr. Pujare, Sh. Pawar, Sq. Ldr. Sh. Dighe, Maj. Vaze and Sh. Pandit (PS to Punjab Governor).
The first Ganeshotsava — 1964
Here, it also reminds me of having organized the first ever Ganeshotsava at the residence of Mr. Bijur in Sector 16 in the year 1964. At that time the membership fee was just Rs. 100/- and fee for Ganeshotsava/pooja was Rs. 20/-. Nevertheless, every member had made all-out efforts to collect donations from the shopping areas of Sectors 1, 16, 9, 22 & 26, and to our pleasant surprise, people of this city had donated liberally towards all the activities concerning Ganeshotsava such as the sthapana of Lord Ganesha, organizing Mahaprasada and Visarjana, and bringing out the souvenir etc.
In those days, the most difficult job was that of transportation of Lord Ganesh's Murti to the city as at that time the rail reservation system in India was too backward and bringing the Murti with care was quite a hardship. But, as they say, where there is a will there is a way — a couple of Air Force officers volunteered and took the responsibility of airlifting the Murti to Chandigarh. Finally, the Murti did arrive and Tagore Theatre was booked for two days (@ Rs. 125/- per day). Everything happened as it should have been, along with a three-act play and other variety programmes. The responsibility of organizing Mahaprasada was taken happily by the ladies as each one of them prepared & brought an item (home-cooked) and served it with great devotion at Mr. Bijur's residence by making the devotees sit in a row. Later on, preparations were made for the Visarjana in Sukhna Lake. Lord Ganesha was made to take his seat luxuriously in Mr. Prabhawalkar's car, everyone chanting enthusiastically — 'Ganpati Bappa Morya'. After performing aarti and Visarjan, everybody came back with a heavy heart but with a promise from Lord Ganesha to come back early, next year too.
1965 — a festival in wartime
This was the turning point when everyone started dreaming of the next year's Ganeshotsava and for all times in future on a regular basis. It reminds me that in the year 1965 also, Ganeshotsava was solemnized at Mr. Bijur's residence but the enthusiasm was marred by an unfortunate incident – an incident which was exceptional & unforgettable for all those present at Tagore Theatre to watch a three-act play. All the artists were very excited & ready with their make-up to put up the show whereas the audience had already taken their seats. The first bell had already rung and the audience were keenly looking forward to the second bell for the show to commence, when suddenly, to everybody's shock, came the war of 1965. There were quite a few officers from the Indian Army as well as from the Indian Air Force who were either participating in the play as artists or were in the audience. The Army & Air Force vehicles had started pouring in to the parking lot of Tagore Theatre and these brave Maratha soldiers left immediately for the war without even meeting their near & dear ones — that had created quite an emotional scene for all of us. Black-outs were declared in the city by the administration amid the tension prevailing at that time. However, special permission was granted by the Govt. for the morning/evening aarti and finally the permission for Visarjana.
Growing years — 1966 to 1969
In the year 1966, in view of the overwhelming enthusiasm of the reasonably grown number of members of Maharashtra Mandal, Ganeshotsava was decided to be solemnized at Panchayat Bhavan. We also got permission to organize a three-act play, bhajan sandhya & other variety programmes besides preparing & serving Mahaprasada. That was also a memorable occasion as Mr. Rajwade had given a sitar performance for the first time to a Marathi audience in Chandigarh. This year, as a good gesture on the part of personnel of the Air Force, 'Queen Mary' — a pretty long & spacious vehicle hardly about one and a half feet above the surface — was provided for the immersion of Ganpati. It was quite a sight to watch as the Queen Mary would move at a very slow pace; so slow was the speed that the devotees would hop on & hop off of it throughout — dancing, chanting and playing lezim. The onlookers on the way to immersion were quite amused & fascinated by seeing the Queen Mary and the excited devotees it was carrying. Many non-Marathis also rejoiced in the occasion and joined the procession on the way.
The year 1967 came up with rejuvenation and with renewed vigour & optimism. Such was the zeal that in the beginning of the year, i.e. in January itself, the Mandal was established officially at Mr. Prabhawalkar's residence. Nevertheless, the strong desire to have a plot and a permanent building for Maharashtra Mandal constructed over it was very much alive. Gradually, the strength of the members had also been increasing day by day. From then onwards, two main functions — Sthapana Divas & Ganeshotsava — started taking place along with lots of discussion & interaction amongst the members as to how to acquire a plot of our own & build Maharashtra Mandal Chandigarh. This year, Mr. Mande's friend, the renowned classical singer Pt. Kumar Gandharv, performed a charity show for the Mandal. Though this show offered free entry for the audience, fairly handsome funds could be collected with the help of this show through advertisements in the Mandal's souvenir. The Ganeshotsava of this year was solemnized at Panchayat Bhavan whereas the rest of the activities concerning dance, music, three-act plays, cultural programmes etc. were organized at Tagore Theatre. Like the preceding year, Visarjan took place with all the devotees carrying the holy idol in the Queen Mary vehicle of the Air Force. Now it was not merely Ganeshotsava — festivals like Kojagiri, Sankrant, Gudi Padwa etc. were also being celebrated.
On the occasion of the Foundation Day of Maharashtra Mandal on 19th January 1968, yet another celebrity classical singer, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, performed and the music lovers thoroughly enjoyed it. By now the people of the City Beautiful had very well started understanding & knowing the rich traditions of Maharashtrian culture, its folk & classical music and dances. This year, due to the enhancement in the tariff of Panchayat Bhavan, Ganeshotsava was organized at Central Polytechnic, Sector 26, where the hall was provided on a complimentary basis. Again in 1969, Ganeshotsava was solemnized at Panchayat Bhavan's small hall. This time, the special performer was Pt. Prabhakar Karekar, who enthralled the audience with his classical vocal performance.
Registration and service — the seventies
1970 will go down as a very important year in the history of Maharashtra Mandal as it was during this year that our Maharashtra Mandal got registered under the act of Chandigarh Cultural Society vide Registration No. 100. I clearly remember that during this period not only Maharashtra Mandal but also Mahila Mandal remained active. The ladies of the Mandal would put up eating stalls at the Rose Festival, give demonstrations of Maharashtrian dishes and Rangoli at Govt. Home Science College in Sector 10 on the invitation of Ms. Dungaji (Principal), and so on. It was some time during this span itself that the class III employees of the P.G.I. had gone on an indefinite strike and the Mahila Mandal members did voluntary service with dedication, serving food to the patients and helping them with their other necessities. All this was done under the able guidance of Dr. Prof. Bidwai, Dr. Prof. Deodhar, Dr. Prof. Mitra and Dr. Mrs. Mitra of PGIMER, Chandigarh.
In 1972, a very interesting play – 'Shivdarshan', based on Chhatrapati Shivaji — was presented by Prof. Vasant Bapat and it became a big hit in the city. There were almost a hundred-plus artists who participated in the said play and it was quite a job to make suitable arrangements of boarding & lodging for them. As usual, Sh. Prabhawalkar came forward as a very active & valuable member of the Mandal who relentlessly contributed his best efforts in collecting funds for the cause. There was such a huge crowd of people who thronged Tagore Theatre that the organizers were simply amused & confused as to how to tackle things. Well, it was ultimately managed by placing extra chairs in the theatre, whereas many in the audience watched the entire three-hour play standing in one of the wings of the theatre. The play was appreciated & applauded so much that most of the people in the audience refused to come out of the theatre, chanting "once more, once more" – wanting to watch it all over again. In view of the popular demand, this play was re-enacted twice on behalf of both the Punjab & Haryana Governments. In the whole process, not only did the director & producer of the play earn more, but Maharashtra Mandal too got a hefty donation of rupees one lac each from the Punjab as well as the Haryana Govt.
The Ganeshotsava of the year 1973 was solemnized at the residence of Mr. Konkane (S.E. Punjab Irrigation Deptt.) because he had a very spacious house with a lush green lawn in Sector 16. The installation of 'Shri' would take place inside the house and the rest of the cultural activities in the lawn, with the improvised arrangement of making the verandah the stage and seating the audience in the lawn. By now there were many renowned artists such as Mr. Rajwade, Ku. Sharau Karekar and Mrs. Saroj Marathe who were members of the Maharashtra Mandal and would perform quite often.
Then it was the turn of Mr. Poddar (S.E. Pb. Ground Water Resources Dev.), at whose residence in Sector 7 Shri Ganapati was installed & Ganeshotsava solemnized in the year 1974. Sukhna Lake was very close to his place and as such, people just walked down for the immersion ceremony. From 1975 to 1977, for three consecutive years, Ganeshotsava was solemnized at Mr. Mehandale's residence in Sector 21. During this period of three years, the responsibility of Ganapati's sthapana & decoration was taken over by the youth of Maharashtra Mandal. Sh. Mahadeokar played a key role along with the newly added youth; Major Dongare also contributed in prize distribution. During this period, Mr. Vilas Janve and Mr. Krishna Kate prepared the mime and puppet artist group of Maharashtra Mandal and presented a number of shows. So many new items with regard to fun games, plays and cultural programmes were added, and for this the credit goes to the youth of that period – Mr. Vilas Janve, Krishna Kate, Sopan Kulkarni, Deepak Argare, Shirish Punekar etc. In 1977, the enthusiasm of the people was at its peak as everybody was counting on the return of Shri Ganapati next year at their own Maharashtra Mandal.
1978 — home at last
Finally, the day broke with the Chaturthi of the year 1978 when, in the name of the present Maharashtra Mandal in Sector 19, there was just a four-wall and roof with an unfinished floor. It was a real sight to watch each & every member of the Mandal, who had tears of joy in their eyes and were so excited with a feeling of possessiveness of their very own Maharashtra Bhavan. Nevertheless, even in these circumstances, without proper infrastructure, the Shri Ganapati idol was installed with the best of decorations. A stage was erected by joining wooden planks to organize Bhajan Sandhya and other variety & cultural programmes. On the day of immersion, a truck was hired.
Well, this is how, starting his journey from a small house, Ganapati Bappa reached our own Maharashtra Mandal — and since then He has been enlarging tremendously the circle of His devotees through His love & blessings.