Pune (Maharashtra): Pune City, being the pioneers of Public Celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi, has a unique tradition of having 5 "Manache Ganpati" or 5 most Respected Ganpati Pandals of the city, which have the honour of being the foremost among other idols during the immersion for the past 129 years, in the same order.
Take look at the 5 most honoured Pandals of Pune City:
1) Kasba Ganapati:
The Kasba Ganpati temple was commissioned by Jija Mata, Mother Of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. After Bal Gangadhar Tilak's initiation of the Ganesh festival in 1893 to gather people sharing similar ideas and thoughts to deal with the British Rule, rivalry grew among various pandals regarding the privilege of immersing their idol first on the last day of the festival. Bal Gangadhar Tilak resolved the rivalry by declaring the privilege of first immersion to Shri Kasba Ganpati, as he is considered the local deity of Pune.
2) Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganpati:
In the Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganesh Pandal, most of the participants are ladies, due to the pandals association with the temple of the Goddess Tambdi Jogeshwari. Unlike many Ganesh pandals in the city, the idol of Lord Ganesh of Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganesh pandal is immersed every year and a new idol is made every year. The idol resides in a shrine made out of silver in the temple and is brought out of the temple only during the Festival.
Also read: Ganesh Chaturthi Special: 5 food items to relish during festivities
3) Guruji Talim Ganpati Mandal:
The third most revered Ganpati's celebrations began in 1887, five years before Balgangadhar Tilak's initiative. Established by Bhiku Shinde, Nansaheb Khasgivle and Sheikh Kaasam Vallaad, was the first in the city to spread the message of communal harmony. In the initial years, the idol used to be installed in the "Taalim" or Gymnasium, from where the pandal gets its name.
4) Tulsi Baug Ganpati:
Established in the year 1901, the businessmen of Tulsi Baug consider this 13 feet tall deity to be the reason for the flourishment of their businesses. This deity resides inside the pandal throughout the year and is adorned with around 80 kgs of silver during the festival.
5) Kesari Wada Ganpati:
Since its establishment in 1894, the Kesari Trust's Ganesh festival used to be organised at the ancestral home of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, but in 1905, the idol was brought to its present location at Kesari Wada. The idol of Kesari Wada Ganpati was designed according to the decription of the deity in Saint Dnyaneshwar's poem 'Dnyaneshwari' in 1998. This deity travels in a palanquin during the immersion procession.
