Daily puja and arti, wonderful music, singing, dance, dhol tasha and lively visarjan procession involving established artistes, children and women have all marked the 26th Ganeshotsav celebrations at Maharashtra Mandal London this year. The recent grand 10-day Ganesh festival attracted close to 3000 attendees and has hosted celebrated artistes of India and UK and gave platform to several others. Shri Amar Oak’s Bansuri Vaadan, Ashwini Kalsekar and Ragasudha Vinjamuri’s Kathakanatyam, Mansi Joshi’s Naandi and Naatyasangeet rendition and other performances on the stage have all captivated the audiences. Deputy Mayor of London Shri Rajesh Agrawal, the first Indian to assume the office in British history, artiste Shri Udayraj Gadnis, Ashish Sharma from the High Commission of India, Mrs Lakshmi Vyas, President of Hindu Forum of Europe etc. have attended the occasion, besides many other key dignitaries. This year’s decoration theme of Shaniwaar Vaada was a star attraction.
Stage performances included the dance ballet titled ‘Ekta ki Aawaz’ by Shivangi Gokhale, Yesha Lakhani, Silpa Paruchuri, Pritidipa Barua, Priya Iyer and Shilpa Chaudhary, (members of Indian Women in London and Inspiring Indian Women) has nicely depicted unity in diversity. Aditi Patil and Rujuta Singh’s dance on Deva Shri Ganesha, presentations by Hardik Vaidya and Nachiket Chandak’s groups were interesting. Bal Darbaar, a wonderful showcase by about 30 young children aged 4-10 years included Shloka recitation, songs, dances and Vedic Yoga. The programs were compered by Nandini Shiralkar and Mrs. Vaishali Mantri. Dhol Tasha rendition by MML Dhol Beats during the procession got everyone dancing and swinging.
Maharashtra Mandal London has been hosting Ganeshotsav celebrations for the past 25 years, and is the first community organisation in the UK to celebrate the full festival with daily puja and arti and a wide range of cultural programs. MML is a charity organisation established in 1932 when Gandhiji visited London with his delegation. Ever since it has been supporting many charitable causes especially in Maharashtra and has been a platform for social interaction in Britain. It also has a Senior Citizen’s Club which meets on a regular basis. On the occasion of its 85th anniversary, it will be hosting London Marathi Sammelan in 2017 that has a wide range of programs and themes in store. The current Board of Trustees include Dr Ulka Gupte, Dr Govind Kanegainkar, Dr Mahadeo Bhide, Mrs Madhavi Amdekar and Abhay Ketkar. The Executive Committee is headed by President Sushil Rapatwar and includes Shardul Kulkarni, Chetan Harpale, Namrata Shiralkar, Ragasudha V. Rapatwar FRSA, Dr Anil Nene, Naresh Shiralkar, Dnyanesh Daudkhane, Nandini Shiralkar and Nimisha Deshmukh Daudkhane, with loads of volunteers helping at different events. Ganeshotsav Committee includes Shriraam Kale, Sanmati Kale, Dr Vijaya Kanegaonkar, Jailesh Deshpande, Sudhakar Khurjekar, Vasant Joshi, Rahul Apte, Rahul, Angre, Kumar Talpade and other respected members of the community. Shri Talpade is also instrumental in making eco-friendly Ganpati every year for several years now.
