My Epic Adventure: 77 Ganpati Ji of Pune

All the beautiful things start from a tiny thought in your mind, it’s always on us to listen to it or not. Festivals always fascinated me. When I was transferred to Pune last year, it was just around the time of the Ganpati festival. I was excited about it but the city was new to me. Pune’s Ganpati festival is very beautiful and grand.

This year, I was well equipped & well-informed about the city. So I started a solo mission – to capture as many Ganpati Pandaals as I could! 4 days and 2 additional trips to Dagduseth and Visarjan; if not half, at least one-third of the city covered, 18 hours of wandering alone in the city; 2500+ raw pics, 101 pics of 77 Ganpati Pandaals, and an Epic Adventure captured from the lens of my camera…
 
Tips:

• The pictures can be changed by arrows keys on laptop/desktop and by swiping on the mobile phone. Also, arrows are available on the slider itself.
• Must Watch: 4, 10, 18, 26, 39, 42, 51.1, 63, 73

   

The Journey and the blessing from Ganpati Ji:

Friday– Trip to Dagduseth – How it all started

It all started with a trip to DagduSeth Ji Maharaj. It was Friday and Ganesh Mahotsav was in full swing in the whole city. I and two of my friends decided to visit DagduSeth Maharaj as I was eager to visit that part of Pune at this time. This was my second Ganesh Utsav here but last time, I was bound to Hinjawadi Phase 1. It was just a couple of months for me in this completely new city. With no vehicle and not many friends, I had to be satisfied with a few Ganpati Ji near my area only. But this year the scenario was totally different. I knew I was going to do something, but never thought it’s going to be this big.
 
The plan was to visit the Pandaal on Saturday, but we were concerned about the weekend rush, so with an instant plan, we were on the Lakshmi Road. This was a completely different experience for me. My hometown is in Haryana and Ganesh Chaturthi is not celebrated there on this scale.  We even never had a holiday for it. Both of my friends are from Maharashtra so it was normal for them but I was spellbound. A very different Pandaal (Temporary structure made for Ganpati Ji’s stay till visarjan) on every corner. Some of the Pandaals were small and simple while some were huge and breathtaking. We were roaming in the city till midnight and then returned to our homes but I knew this is not the end of it for me.

 

The Saturday – Day 1 – 10th September 2016

It started like a normal weekend. Woke up late, had breakfast at lunchtime and then went to meet some friends. I knew I wanted to go back to Lakshmi Road with my DSLR but was not sure if it was a good idea or not. Around 6 PM, I somehow made my mind that let’s do it. I won’t get a better opportunity to utilize my almost unused camera that ate all of my savings and bonus last year. I already had my battery charged, so it was just me, my DSLR bag and my Activa and we were on the run. I didn’t know the way to Lakshmi road but what I knew was the way to FC Road (for obvious reasons 😉 ) that had Shivaji Nagar on the way.

Shivaji Nagar and FC Road market:

Near my first Ganpati Ji in Shivaji Nagar, there was a dance competition and a huge crowd was there between the Pandaal and me. I was too scared to go near so clicked picture from a distance and went for the others. That’s how it started. I started with the auto-mode of my camera but very soon it was a no go. The lightnings of Pandaals were good for eyes but not for cameras in Auto-Mode. Flash was a big NO as it only makes your pictures look artificial. So I used all the knowledge I learnt in the starting days when I was over excited about the toy I bought. I clicked many Ganpati Ji there and on the way to FC Road market and a couple in the market too. Now, it was time for Lakshmi Road. Now, I was more confident and was enjoying it far more than what I expected.

Lakshmi Road:

When I reached there, I parked my 2 wheeler and started clicking pictures right away. The atmosphere was amazing. It was like whole Pune was there. Streets were full of people, be it families or young people like me. Every single road had at least 3-4 Pandaals and that area is a web of roads. Because I was there last night only, I had some idea where I was going. The one thing which was common in most of the Ganpati Ji was the light settings. There was an average of 5 different colors of lights for every Ganpati Ji, flashed in a loop. So, I had to click pictures back to back so that later I could choose the best ones. But there were few Ganpati Ji where the choice was limited. Some had Tika and other decorations painted by fluorescent paint which was glowing only in Dark blue color. I had to wait for the color every time and then click pictures with different settings each time. Somehow, I managed to click worth clicks for them all.

I was so indulged in clicking that I didn’t even take a single food break, no picture of mine and not even stopped to have some rest. And very soon I realized that it was already 12 AM!! The place was still so crowded that it looked like 9PM only, when I reached there hours back. But it was time to leave. I am used to of hanging out late in the night that too with my parents’ permission who are very open and understanding but this was too much even for me; 12am at night, alone and 13km away from home. Getting out of Lakshmi road was no easy task but I got some more clicks on my way back to main road. After getting lost for few moments in Shivaji Nagar and scared for the first time in the day, I was back on the road to home in a few minutes. The day ended but I was not done.

 

The Sunday – Day 2 – 11th September 2016

Next day, I was again enjoying at a friend’s place and was waiting for the evening as that day was a new day for a new area. The idea was to cover Aundh and Baner. When I reached Aundh, the environment was entirely different. I was not able to find more than one Pandaal in Aundh. So, I went on a blind hunt on unknown roads in search of Ganpati Ji. Very soon I found myself in Baner (happens with me all the time in Pune, you try to get lost and reach a known place within 5 minutes).

Baner:

Baner was completely different from Aundh. There was a Ganpati Pandaal in every few 100 meters on both sides of the straight long road of Baner. Walking was not an option today so it was like park – click – drive on loop. The time I reached was the time of Arti. Somehow, I managed to attend at least 3-4 Artis back to back. And in all cases, I just reached moments before it started, I had to wait for Arti to complete, click pictures and then in the next Pandaal, again it was about the time of Arti! But thanks to it, I managed a couple of Arti pictures too. After completing one side of road, I took a U-turn and clicked Ganpati Ji on the other side too. And then I got the jumbo prize: An enormous Ganpati Ji on the way to Visarjan with a big show. Not only it was great to click pictures but the ambience and sound of dhol-nagada were spectacular.

Aundh:

Initially, before Baner, I found only one Ganpati Pandaal but on the way back, there were many more which I missed earlier. The total count was not even near to the number in Baner but I was in no mood to skip even one. Around when the clock ticked 11PM, the place turned into some ghostly town. It was time to stop the pandaal hunt and proceed to home. On the way back home, there was one more small Pandaal on the main road. There were few people around but not inside but there was a dog sitting on the front road, feet away from the door of Pandaal staring the Ganpati Ji non-stop. That was not something usual I can say. 

 

The Monday – Day 3 – 12th September 2016

The hard work of two days was enough to make me really tired and here it was – the deadly Monday!! I brought my camera to the office as I decided to go after the office directly. That day’s mission was Hinjawadi and Wakad but destiny had something else for me. I started from the one in phase 1 just before the Hinjawadi Chowk but there was too much traffic on the road. So, except of taking the Hinjawadi road, I went for the Dange road.

Hinjawadi, Wakad and Dattanagar:

Clicked a few in Hinjawadi and Wakad then came the area I was not at all familiar with. The board on a bus stand said Dattanagar. There were few Pandaals on distance of couple of kilometres with dance competitions, puppet shows, skits and shows with huge moving (gears and motors, I guess) models depicting mythological tales. Very soon I had no idea where I was or where I was going. Got to know, it was Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Pimpri-Chinchawad:

Few minutes after roaming randomly on unknown roads, I ended in Pimpri market, area little known to me (Yup, that happened again).  Pimpri market is always full of lights, festival or not. So that day, it was even brighter. I found many beautiful Pandaals there, a few quite different too. After covering as much as possible I went back home.

Rahatani/Pimple Saudagar:

The way to home was through Rahatani/Pimple Saudagar (don’t know the difference). The area was a little isolated but the effect in pictures because of the dark and isolation was amazing. But then I have to miss a few as by now, my body was on the verge of collapsing, I was sleep deprived, it was 10 PM already and dinner was pending.

 

The Tuesday – Day 4 – 13th September 2016

Till Tuesday morning, I was not in a condition to continue it. I was in the office giving everything left in me to work, DSLR was at home and I had suggestions from multiple people including my father to stop it as I was just too tired. That is what I had in my mind too. But on the way back home, Bappa was planning a conspiracy against my plan to stop. I live near Kokane Chowk and there was a huge roadshow with dhol-nagada on Shivar Chowk, Bappa was going for visarjan near my doorstep. There was no way I could miss that.

Pimple Saudagar and Vishal Nagar:

I had no idea how much battery was left in my DSLR (didn’t charge it for the day). I came home, threw my bag and left straight away. Clicked a lot of pictures of the roadshow and now when I was already on the move, it was time to complete it. Next stop was Vishal Nagar. Another roadshow was waiting for me there. A couple of Pandaals and the roadshow and I left for what I missed the last day: Hinjawadi.

Hinjawadi:

The reason to come back to Hinjawadi was the 3 Pandaals, I missed last day. The huge Pandaal of Hinjawadi Chowk, another nearby and one that I covered last day but didn’t get the right-click due to huge rush. I have to literally sit at Hinjawadi Chowk Pandaal so that there will be fewer people and I can get good pictures for 3 of them. And that’s how it ended.

 

 The Thursday – The Visarjan Day – 14th September 2016

Wednesday was normal but the adventure was taking a toll on my body. I was tired beyond imagination. Finally, I had to take leave due to excessive body-ache. I ditched the idea to attend the morning show of Visarjan on Lakshmi Road which is the best thing of the whole festival and slept till noon. But as soon as it clocked 12 PM, again I was not able to stop myself from going. The plan was to go without the camera and that too not alone. Unfortunately, the friend I was going with got busy in a meeting and here I was going solo again, but without my DSLR. I was willing to see something different so except for going to Lakshmi Road, I went to JM road, the place where Visarjan takes place. It was a river with artificial pools constructed on the riverside. Ganpati Ji of all sizes were coming there and were taking their final dips. Finally, with a plate of Tacos in Aundh, it was time to end this Epic Adventure.

 

The Experience

The Best Memories:

1. The best part of the whole journey was the way people treated me. I was welcomed everywhere, made space for and greeted very nicely. Most of the time, I had to ask them to stop worrying about me and keep doing what they were doing as I was going to take my time. I was suggested light settings to be changed, angles and was repeatedly asked to climb the Pandaal for better view.
2. The reason for the first one could be that they believed that I was from media. Even on Monday, a couple of people asked me if I work for media (I forgot to remove my ID card and had a huge bag pack with me, not their fault). This really made me feel like some hot-shot photographer taking pictures for something big.
3. I love travelling, especially if the area is unknown. This experience gave me enough reasons to map the city, if not half, then at least one-third of it.
4. I always had a passion for photography but I was too busy with other things or let’s say was scared to start it. Finally, I got a start from here and now I am not stopping. What can be a better start from a blessing from Bappa themselves?
5. One thing I learned on this trip is patience. With so many people coming between the view and your lense, you need a lot of patience to get the right click.

The Regrets:

1. Wish I knew more about my camera. There were times when I had no idea what to do to take a good picture in that situation. It’s less a regret more of a lesson. Time for some classes.
2. I was so busy taking pictures from areas far from home that I missed a few Pandaals in Pimple Saudagar itself, near home. They were on walking distance from my home and got visarjit before I could click them. Wish I started it a few days back. Also, a nearby area like Balewadi was also missed.
3. I should have covered Dagduseth Ji Maharaj on Saturday. The pictures I have from Friday are not up to the mark but I was too late for it!!

 

Special Thanks:

1. My Activa – tum na hoti kya hota Mera is shehr mei? (What would I have done without you?)
2. My DSLR – the thing which was left neglected for 1.5 years. Welcome back, buddy.
3. Akash Gulati – It’s always good to have someone with good knowledge of cameras and pictures. Literally saved me from screwing up a couple of times.
4. Nivedita Tiwari, Ritu Rawat, Vikas Reddu, Abhishek Zalke, and Akash Gulati – People with good English are always handy testers 😉
5. Abhishek Zalke and Gaurav Khond – The two partners in crime on Friday, you guys made it happen.
6. Priya : the roommate – for bearing my mouse clicks, typing, self-murmuring and tube light till early hours in the morning during editing days.

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