Kasaba Ganapati Temple
The Kasba Ganapati refers to both a particular idol of the god Ganapati in Pune, India, as well as to the temple built around the idol. The Kasba Ganapati is the presiding deity (gramadevata) of Pune.
The temple was commissioned by Jijabai, after Dadoji Konddeo reported to her that an idol of Ganapati had been found in Pune. The idol’s status as the premier idol in Pune was decided by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
In the year 1630. The Royal Queen Jijabai Bhosale arrived in Pune with her son Shivaji. Shivaji was disturbed by the pathetic plight of the mavals, at a very young age. At the age of 12, he vowed to liberate the mavals from the mughal powers. Around this time, alongwith other seven families, Thakar Family migrated to Pune from Indi, Vijapur District. Vinayak Bhatt Thakar also carried his Family deity, Lord Gajanan alongwith him. All these families settled near River bank around the current place of Kasba Ganapati Temple which was close to the residence of Jijabai. Jijabai perceived this as an auspicious moment and promptly decided to build a temple, which is popularly known as the Kasba Ganpati Mandir.
Since then, Pune is also known as the city of Ganesh. The Peshwas were ardent followers of Lord Ganesh. During their regime Shaniwarwada has witnessed grand celebrations for Lord Ganesh.
In 1893, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the great freedom fighter and Cub of India, initiated the now famous Ganesh Festival. His intention was to gather people sharing similar ideas and exchange thoughts to deal with the British ruler. He started celebrating Ganesh Festival from his own house Kesari Wada. Due to his influencing personality and initiative, everyone started celebrating this festival and thus it became a public festival in 1893.
There was rivalry among the various mandals regarding the privilege of immersing the idol on the last day of the Ganpati festival. Bal Gangadhar Tilak resolved the rivalry and declared the privilege of immersion to Shri Kasba Ganpati, as it is the local deity of Pune.
Till 1925, Shri Kasba Ganpati Mandal celebrated the festival within the premises of the temple and from 1926 it is celebrated in an enclosed mandap. Presently, the ten days of the festival is a platform to display ones talents through various cultural programs thus allowing a large number of devotees to participate in the celebrations. On the last day, Shri Kasba Ganpati plays the leading role during the immersion procession. For more information on Immersion Procession.
Location:
The temple is located in the Kasba Peth area in Pune to be precise. The two famous historical monuments Shaniwar Wada and Lal Mahal stand at handshake distance from the temple. Reaching Kasba Ganesh Temple is not a big deal as you can hire an auto rickshaw from any part of the city and reach the place with ease.
Ganesh Festival Celebrations:
Initially the Ganesh festival was celebrated individually in Maharashtra and the neighboring states. It was in 1893 that Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak thought of giving it a public form and since then the public Ganesh Festival in India has been one of the grand celebrations in the country. Making private festival a public one was Tilak’s attempt of bringing people together and thereby giving the Indian freedom struggle a form of a systematic revolt against the British Rule.
As the time passed the nature of the festival went on chaining and then started the rivalry among the Ganesh Mandals in Pune over the issue of which Mandal should get the privilege of immersing the Ganesh idol into river water before all others. The rivalry turned into a great dispute and finally Tilak had to intervene. Tilak said that the Kasba Ganesh being the Premier God of the city should get the privilege in the Ganesh Immersion Procession.
In a nutshell, the Kasba Ganesh boasts to be one of the ancient shrines of Lord Ganesh in the city of Pune. The temple has got a rich legacy of history and the idol here was placed in the sanctum by young Shivaji in the year 1639. During the Ganesh Festival, oodles of people from all over the world come to Pune to see the Kasba Ganesh. On the final day of the Ganesh Festival, Kasba Ganesh gets the privilege in the immersion procession. The deity is rightly called the premier god of the town.
The temple is open from 6.00 A.M. to 9.00 P.M. every day.
The place is always crowded. But it is heavily crowded especially on Tuesdays and during the Ganesh Festival.