Indian community in UK from Pune celebrates Ganeshotsav

Maharashtrians, including a large number of Punekars, settled in the United Kingdom are celebrating Ganeshotsav with the same gusto and fervour as it is being celebrated in Pune. The festival is being celebrated in at least seven different locations in the UK, including London.

The Central London-based Maharashtra Mandal — the oldest Marathi organisation outside India, established in 1932 — has been celebrating the festival since 1991.

Apart from Maharashtra Mandal, the Marathi community from other parts of London and UK have come together to form Ganesh Mitra Mandals in their localities.

Slough Mitra Mandal, Reading Ganeshotsav Mandal, Ilford Mitra Mandal, Marathi Mitra Mandal of Midlands, and Besingstoke Ganeshotsav Mandal are some of the mandals celebrating the festival.

Sanhita Kulkarni, a Punekar who has been staying in London since August 2009, recalled how she used to enjoy the festival in Pune. “I missed Ganeshotsav in London. Later, I came to know about Hounslow Ganeshotsav Mandal, that celebrates the festival. This is for the second year I am taking part in the festivities in that mandal.”

An info-tech professional from Pune and now resident of Basingstoke, Sunetra Kanago, echoed similar feelings. “I’ve been attending Basingstoke Ganeshotsav for the past few years. The Marathi community gathers at the council hall in traditional attire.

We offer Ganesh atharvashirsh sahastravartan (reciting atharvashirsha 1,000 times). It’s a delightful experience to be a part of Ganeshotsav in the UK,” she remarked.

According to her, all the mandals celebrate Ganeshotsav in the same traditional style as is being celebrated in Pune. “Even the immersion procession is carried out in a similar fashion,” Kanago said.

A couple of years back, the local government authorities allowed the mandals to immerse Ganesh idols in the river Thames. So crowds gather along the banks of that river during the immersion.

There are cultural programmes arranged for the occasion. This year, Marathi actor Pushkar Shrotri is visiting London to see these mandals. The Hounslow Ganeshotsav Mandal organised the festival for two days in south-west London. It had also organised a dance competition for children. The young organisers — Vaibhav Raorane, Sachin Mhaphankar, Rakesh Raut, and Nitin Parte — came to the UK nine years ago.

“We thought of celebrating Ganeshotsav four years back. Earlier, it was in one of our homes. But for the last two years, we are getting the premise of Laxminarayan temple in central Hounslow for Ganeshotsav. This year, more than 3,000 devotees turned up for the festival”, Parte said.

Around 350 devotees attended the immersion procession. All were taken to the riverside in Richmond in coaches. Near the river bank road, a disciplined procession took place with traditional dhol beats.

Interestingly, the whole Indian diaspora turned out to say adieu to ‘Bappa’. The dhols were played by Sikh devotees, while the prasad and other food stalls were put up by Gujaratis, Rajasthanis and other Indian communities.