The procession was marked by an attractive floral decoration of the bejewelled chariot, which carried the deity; the chariot was illuminated with ‘cold fire’ light; Bhandara (turmeric powder) was being tossed and flowers were showered liberally on the procession at various places; Dhol-Tasha pathaks filled the atmosphere with beats of their instruments and chants of ‘Morya, Morya’ were being raised by devotees hailing Bappa.
Thousands of devotees were present along the procession route to have a glimpse of their favourite deity.
DCP Krushikesh Rawale worshipped Bappa and performed an ‘Aarti’ at 7.30 am on the occasion of Anant Chaturdarshi on Saturday. Later, a special chariot, ‘Shri Ganesh Ratna Rath’ carried the idol at 8 am to the Tilak statue near Mandai to join the immersion procession. The Five Manache Ganpati idols were garlanded by Celebration Chief Punit Balan on behalf of Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust as per the annual tradition.
The Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati immersion procession began at around 10.30 pm. Trust Celebration Chief and Trustee Punit Balan was the charioteer of the ‘Shri Ganesh Ratna Rath’. The chariot arrived at 11.30 pm at Belbaug Chowk. Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari’s statue and the Nagara were at the forefront of the procession.
They were followed by Shriram and Ramanbaug Dhol-Tasha pathaks, which enthused participants in the procession with their performances. ‘Bhandara’ was being tossed, and flowers were being showered on the procession at various places along the procession route by volunteers. The chariot was illuminated with attractive cold fire, which pleased devotees.
At around 3.15 am, Shri Ganesh Ratna Rath arrived at Tilak Chowk, where Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma and DCP Krushikesh Rawale performed an ‘Aarti’ of Bappa and the idol proceeded for the immersion. At 3.50 am, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati idol was immersed in the artificial tank built by the PMC amidst a devotional and emotional atmosphere at Panchaleshwar Visarjan Ghat.
Attractively decorated Shri Ganesh Ratna Rath
Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Bappa's immersion procession has been conducted in a traditional chariot for the past 134 years. However, an attractive chariot has been used for the procession since last year.
This year, the trust built a special chariot named ‘Shri Ganesh Ratna Rath’. The bejewelled chariot was attractively decorated with pink velvet flowers, illuminated with cold fire light and carried Bappa’s beautiful idol. It was a major attraction for devotees. Thousands of them clicked photos and filmed video clips with their mobile phones.
“The immersion procession of Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Trust Ganpati was completed with revelry and enthusiasm this year. We joined the procession after the police department allowed us to enter it on Laxmi Road. We kept our promise given to the police by completing the procession before the deadline issued to us,” said Punit Balan, Trustee and Celebration Chief, Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganpati Trust.
“However, had we been allowed to join the procession at the scheduled time, thousands of devotees would not have had to wait to have a glimpse of Bappa. But I thank the police department, the civic body, office-bearers and all workers of the mandal from the bottom of my heart for their cooperation for peaceful and enthusiastic Ganpati festival celebrations!” added Balan.
