It matters which Ganesh mandal your kids are associated with

We see a trailer before a movie gets released. We get some idea about how the movie is going to be after watching the trailer. We either discard it or it creates interest within us. There are some smart people who release their movies on some important festivals to ensure there is spike in ticket sales in first week of its release. I think the same is applicable to nonsense songs which are released during Dahi Handi, so by the time Ganesh Festival comes they become hit. We see such unique songs every year. Last year we saw “Shantabai…. Shantabai” this year we are seeing “Rada Rada… Rada Rada”. My point is though the tunes are ordinary, lyrics are total crap they make an impression because these social festivals give them the right launching pad. The modus operandi is simple here and their advertisement timing is perfect.

Social gatherings during Ganesh festival earlier used to have some cultural programmes, magic shows, musical orchestra, puppet shows, fancy dress competition, musical chair, sports competition, funfare, Artharwashirsha pathaan and many similar activities. The number of Ganesh Mandals in Pune are more than 1000. What’s disturbing is that though they collect vargani (Contribution from residents leaving in nearby areas) most of them spend more than 70 -80% of that amount on last day procession with consists of DJ and gigantic speakers.

In my opinion, the  sole purpose of Ganesh festival is long forgotten. Doing 2 aartis during the day and distributing prasad is what happens in most of the mandals. The saddest part which I feel is when aarti is played on a recorder. On the last day those DJ’s and gigantic speakers come in the picture with huge costs involved in DJ setup, Generator, Diesel & Trolley which carries those speakers. We see thousands of people dancing on the street in the most vulgar possible way on totally nonsense songs. I have danced on those songs in last 2-3 years but when I see retrospectively , I vividly remember the various kind of good activities that used to happen during Ganesh festival for which people/ kids used to prepare in advance. I clearly see a gap and see it increasing year by year. Songs like Shantabai & Rada Rada  add fuel to the already big list of nonsense songs which fills the last day miravnuk slot of 8-10 hours. 

What’s seriously painful is that if small kids are raised in such setups they will never understand the true meaning of Ganesh Festival and things which are actually done in Ganesh festival. People keep on talking about river pollution during the last day of the festival. I believe the above problem which I mentioned is a soul spoiler and will have permanent impacts.