THE ten-day Ganeshotsav immediately triggers a sepia-tone nostalgia taking one down memory lane where managing a ‘sarvajanik mandal’ would be a big honour and hosting a film-show on road for the ‘mohalla’ would be an outstanding achievement. Jute-sacks would serve as mats, a big white cloth tied to balconies would become a screen, and a street would become a grand theatre. It was pure gold, forever etched in the memory of the ‘pre-mobile generations’. Moderate resources and limited sources of entertainment in those days played a good part in keeping ‘Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav’ a restrained affair. With little pomp and no-frills decorations, Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav was the perfect melting pot for localities. The festival was a converging point for the entire community. Everyone would become an automatic part of the event either being the organiser or being participants in the enterprising programmes spread over the ten days. In the hindsight, the ‘Sarvajanik Ganeshotsavs’ acted as the initial introduction to management (event and finance) for children and young men.

 

It was the first B-School (Bappa-School) for youngsters who learned the art of figuring out a budget, raising finances through donations (vargani in local parlance), negotiating deals with decorators, hammering out barter with flower-shops and ‘mithai’ shops for daily ‘prasad’, chalking out programmes and competitions, and hitting the jackpot by organising a film show. A reserve fund for the final day band (Sandal) was of supreme importance. It would sometime necessitate additional rounds of ‘Housies’ to keep the contingency fund healthy. And being part of the mandal executive team would add an aura of authority in the family. Those were the first steps towards shouldering responsibility. Meetings in the ‘gully’ (Of course shorn of boardroom opulence) would see creative deliberations on adding “something unique” to the festivities every year. A sense of competition with the neighbouring ‘mohalla’ added a cutting edge to the proceedings. It would be a sensational brainstorming.

 

The ‘B-School’ was also instrumental in establishing a ‘good connect’ in the locality. Daily distribution of ‘prasad’ in every household would open many ‘communication lines’ through official channel. A different camaraderie among the ‘mandal’ would be at work with proper marking of ‘target audience’ for the executives. The community events were also helpful in instilling a sense of security in the society. Entire locality would come together as a family and safety of ‘mohalle ki ladki’ was everyone’s responsibility. Fostering of those bonds and creating a healthy social atmosphere was the golden gain of ‘sarvajanik ganeshotsavs’. The bonds are still alive and kicking in many localities forming a wonderful memory for generations. Despite limited resources, the ‘B-School’ ensured Bappa’s sojourn remained a grand affair, every year. Each Ganeshotsav stirs up those memories, sometimes hustling up through old albums or a social media post reminiscing old days, knocking up a tear in the corner of the eye, before the ‘light and sound show’ in huge pandals connects the present.n