Nagpur: The city’s iconic Marbat festival has travelled quite a distance in 145 years without leaving the lanes where it was born, and Friday’s celebrations marked the biggest attempt yet to take the home-grown tradition to the global stage.For the first time, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) formally joined the celebrations, showcasing the event as a cultural and tourism attraction with national and international appeal.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis joined the festivities alongside actor Jackie Shroff, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Marathi actor Ankush Chaudhari, cricketer Umesh Yadav and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, among others, at Gandhi Putla square in Mahal.Consuls General Patrick Leverino of France, Monica Nagelgaard of Norway, and Petra Theman of Finland witnessed the spectacle, giving a distinctly international audience to an event that has historically thrived on community participation in old Nagpur.The journey to Friday’s spectacle began more than a century ago. According to local historians and folklore, Kali Marbat is believed to have been introduced in 1881, followed by Pili Marbat in 1885.Over the generations, the festival expanded, with Lal, Nili and other Marbats joining the procession. Badgyas, meanwhile, evolved into vehicles for lampooning everything from political controversies and corruption to contemporary social problems.Friday, however, added another chapter to that evolution. Shroff had the crowds roaring with his trademark “Bhidu” before joining the familiar “Ida, pida gheun jaa ge Marbat” chant and even breaking into a dance.Ghai, meanwhile, spoke of his connection with Nagpur, recalling that the city is his birthplace. Umesh Yadav described the spectacle as an experience that made him proud to be a Nagpurkar.NMC commissioner Vipin Itankar, divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari, mayor Neeta Thakre, standing committee chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhare, deputy mayor Leela Hathibed and ruling party leader Narendra (Balya) Borkar were among those present.For generations, Marbat needed little more than old Nagpur’s streets and its people to survive. This year, those same streets became its window to the world.
