Pune: The curtains fell on Ganeshotsav on Friday and Laxmi Road turned red with gulal on Friday as visarjan processions flowed through the day and into the night and stretched well into Saturday, lasting 33 hours and 27 minutes before finally coming to a close at 7.33pm. On several stretches, crowds appeared thinner than in previous years, even as dhol-tasha performances and elaborate tableaux kept the city’s traditional fervour intact.The immersion procession for Kasba Ganapati began with much grandeur, albeit with a 30-minute delay at 10.30am. Shri Kasba Ganpati Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal Trust later issued an apology and expressed regret at the inconvenience caused.Shrikant Shete, from the mandal, said this was the first such delay in the mandal’s 134-year history. “We left on time, but on the way to Mandai, chariots of other mandals, parked between the Utsav Mandap and Tilak statue, blocked the route and delayed the palkhi’s movement towards Tilak Chowk. This caused a 30-minute delay, which had a domino effect on the rest of the procession,” he said.Following the initial delay, the immersion processions of the remaining four Manache Ganapatis moved down Laxmi Road toward the riverfront ghats, a journey spanning roughly eight hours and 30 minutes. The city’s five Manache Ganapati mandals, Kasba Ganapati, Tambdi Jogeshwari Ganapati, Guruji Talim Ganapati, Tulshibaug Ganpati and Kesariwada Ganapati wrapped up the honorary sequence at 6.12pm, officially clearing the route for the Shreemath Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati and hundreds of other public mandals to begin their immersion procession.Dagdusheth Ganapati on its way through the city from 4.18pm drew spectators in huge numbers amid the familiar mix of music and elaborate cultural displays, eventually completing its immersion rituals at 8.27pm.At Alka Chowk, the spectacle extended from the procession to the ground itself. Teams from Rashtriya Kala Akademi, which had created rangolis at 11 chowks along the route, came together to make a large artwork involving 200 students. Nearby, fireworks by Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati added to the visual highlight. Street performances inspired by Kantara and the Ramayana drew spectators, with some staying longer than they had planned.“We saw the enactment of Kantara. It was so riveting, and the actors were so good and captivating. Such a huge crowd, but everyone was engrossed in what was happening on stage,” said Richa Gaikwad, a working professional.For visitors, the scale of the celebration remained part of its appeal. Geeta Mukherjee, a Siliguri resident visiting her daughter in Pune, said it was her first time witnessing the city’s visarjan. “I was struck by how the elaborate setups, large crowds and dhol pathaks brought the city together,” said Mukherjee.A 20-year-old visiting from Mumbai with a friend said, “This is our first time watching the visarjan here. Mumbai has huge idols and bigger crowds. Pune is much smaller in scale, but the dhol-tasha, lejhim, and other cultural performances make it feel more rooted, like a genuine Marathi cultural celebration.”At Alka Chowk, Vinayak Patil, an IT professional who came with his wife and two children, said that the crowd was smaller than last year. “But the energy is high. We come here to soak in this energy.”With a growing number of mandals each year, immersion processions are also spreading beyond the traditional Laxmi Road stretch to routes and neighbourhoods such as Dhayari, Pune-Satara Road, Sinhagad Road, and so on. Many visitors used the Metro towards Deccan to reach the central celebration areas. Despite the continuing procession, roads in nearby areas remained largely commutable.During the day, dhol pathaks dominated the soundscape. By nightfall on Friday, loudspeakers appeared in large numbers, continuing to blare as the procession spilled into Saturday with Maharashtra Tarun Mandal from Kasewadi concluding the immersion procession at 7.33pm.During the day, dhol pathaks dominated the soundscape. By nightfall on Friday, loudspeakers appeared in large numbers, continuing to blare as the procession spilled into Saturday.Inputs from Ardhra Nair
