Tekdi Ganesh Mandir, which has historical and spiritual importance among citizens, is a perfect epitome of rich heritage of Nagpur city and its rulers. The Ganesh Tekdi Mandir has been attracting devotees since 1935, when a tin shed was first put over the idol by some devotees. “From tin shed to today’s decorated mandir premises, the temple has witnessed many ups and downs in last 88 years. Since its inception, with blessings of Lord Ganesha, many devotees achieved success in their life,” Shriram Bapurao Kulkarni, Secretary, Shri Ganesh Mandir Tekdi told The Hitavada. “This is a ‘swayambhu’ idol, which means it has not been consecrated here or a praan pratishtha has not been performed. It was noticed by some devotees who constructed a tin shed by spending Rs 500 near a peepal tree and started Puja of Lord Ganesha,” informs Kulkarni.

 

 

The idol emerged from the ground after a series of dynamite blasts made in 1875 by the British on the hillock on which the temple is located. “The British started construction of Railway station and the blasts were made to level the ground in the Eastern part of the hillock. After one such explosion, the idol came up from the ground,” Secretary of the Mandir Trust added. Thirty years after the shed had been put up, for the first time, a temple committee was constituted and registered. Area of 0.64 acres was permanently allotted to the temple by Ministry of Defence when Yeshwantrao Chavan was the Defence Minister. After getting the land, the temple committee started construction of the temple. “Those were the days when there was acute shortage of cement in the country. Governor of Punjab Banwarilal Purohit, then an emerging leader in Nagpur, donated 200 bags of cement for the temple,” recalled Kulkarni.

 

The structure was made by mixing sagol in cement. That is the reason it was of such poor quality. In 2004, the old temple started developing cracks on walls. The temple committee requested Ministry of Defence to allow the committee to renovate the temple as it has historical importance for the city. Despite getting permission from the Minister, the work started in 2019 when the BJP Government came to power in Maharashtra and new Parivartan Panel was formed as new temple committee, said Kulkarni. The idol and the peepal tree on which it rests are both in city’s heritage list. “For the development of the temple, the Department of Tourism recently sanctioned a fund of Rs 5 crore, of which we have received Rs 1 crore for the work,” said Kulkarni. “It is good to see that the district administration is working hard for making this temple a Grade-A pilgrimage site and we will likely get the tag soon,” said Kulkarni. Many famous personalities visit Tekdi Mandir and take blessings of Lord Ganesha. “We made regular contributions to the Prime Minister’s and Chief Minister’s Relief Funds. Our members served the needy during COVID-19 pandemic,” he added. The fortunes of the temple too have seen a steady rise. The total collections from cash box and donations is approximately Rs 3-4 cr annually. Along with this, temple trust has about 43 kgs of gold.n