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By:

Ruddhi Phadke

22 September 2024 at 10:17:54 am

Gudhi Padwa draws world to Girgaum

Mumbai: It was the 24 th  celebration of Gudhi Padwa in Girgaum on Thursday, and as usual, the festivities were grand, picturesque and saw humongous response not just from the local residents. This year, the celebration saw huge participation of enthusiasts from beyond the borders. While some coincidentally bumped into the event, some others actually typed ‘Gudhi Padwa 2026 schedule’ in their google search bar to ensure they did not miss this ‘must do’ event while planning their holiday...

Gudhi Padwa draws world to Girgaum

Mumbai: It was the 24 th  celebration of Gudhi Padwa in Girgaum on Thursday, and as usual, the festivities were grand, picturesque and saw humongous response not just from the local residents. This year, the celebration saw huge participation of enthusiasts from beyond the borders. While some coincidentally bumped into the event, some others actually typed ‘Gudhi Padwa 2026 schedule’ in their google search bar to ensure they did not miss this ‘must do’ event while planning their holiday travel in India. It is indeed a big moment for a Mumbaikar to know that an international traveler has Girgaon listed as one of the ‘must do’ destinations for an India trip in their diary; Gudhi Padwa being the cause is even more interesting. Tana, who lives in the Netherlands embarked on a long duration trip to India earlier this month, visited Mumbai specifically to enjoy the festivities. She told ‘The Perfect Voice’ , “I came here to celebrate Gudhi Padwa with you. I am here to experience everything that I see, all the beautiful outfits, beautiful people. I did a lot of research. I knew that today is the day New Year is celebrated in Maharashtra. I am a tourist. I am alone. I am indulging in everything here from food, festivals, dresses. I adore India. I actually typed Gudhi Padwa in the search bar to ensure I did not miss this must-do event during my trip to India.” Shivani Dopavkar, a Hula Hoop artist who is a regular and active participant had made an interesting statement when she had spoken to ‘The Perfect Voice’  during last year’s Shobha Yaatra. She had said, “I quit my IT profession to take up Hula Hoop as my full-time art. I wish to take Girgaum to a level where it is recognised globally. I have chosen Hula Hoop to accomplish this dream for which Gudhi Padwa Shobha Yatra is a perfect platform.” The dream doesn’t seem to be far from success as a lot of foreign participants dressed up in traditional Indian attire were seen enjoying the activities Annie, from Berlin who came to India as a tourist co-incidentally got introduced to the festivities. “It is really colourful. I have come from Berlin with my Indian friend. German culture is very different. Everything is colourful and vibrant here. The women on the bikes, the flowers, everything that we see around is very eventful,” said Annie. Early Preparations Girgaum woke up to busy preparations right from six am, as participants and volunteers geared up for the day ahead. The action began at around nine am, with people from different walks of life wounding their happiness around different themes from Hindu mythology to ancient Marathi traditions. From Children to elderly, to differently abled individuals, all enthusiastically navigated through densely crowded tiny lanes that whole-heartedly accommodated hundreds of visitors. Kamini Darji, a Gujarathi speaking Girgaum resident was present in the middle of the action with her differently abled son. Darji said, “I get my son every year to witness the festivities. The environment gives a very united and positive vibe. We never miss the event.” From Lejhim to Dhol Tasha Pathak, from bike borne Navvari saree clad women to Hula hoop artists; from live bhajan singing to Mardani Khel to children dressed up based on different themes from Chandrayaan to ‘Vithoba-Rakhmai’; the celebration gave a perfect introduction of India’s cultural wealth to all the international visitors. Jennifer from Germany who participated in Mardani Khel wearing a traditional nine-yard saree said, “We play Mardani khel every year for Gudhi Padwa. I have been to Maharashtra many times. This is the first time that I have come to Mumbai. I learnt this art at Shivaji Raje Mardani Akhada in Pune. I have been visiting India for nine years. Earlier I used to live in Bengaluru.” Vande Mataram Theme While it was a beautiful blend of all the aspects that define India, the cherry on the top was – the ‘Vandya Vande Mataram’ – theme. To commemorate 150 th  anniversary of India’s national song Vande Mataram, most of the Tableaus and art work revolved around patriotic sentiment. While Shobha yatra 2024 was all about Lord Shri Ram and 2025 about pride for Marathi language, the year 2026 was all about freedom struggle and love for India. The most interesting highlight was the 25-foot-tall paper statue of freedom fighter Swatantryaveer Savarkar that was carried past to the thunderous beats of drums filling the air with exuberance. A 31-year-old sculptor Gaurav Pawar made the statue along with his brother Gitesh and other volunteers. Gaurav said, “Last year we made a statue of Dnyaneshwar. This year we got an opportunity to make a statue of Savarkar Ji. We took 10 days to make the statue out of paper and bamboo material. It was completely eco-friendly. We got to learn a lot about Savarkar ji during the process and it was a very very sensitive experience.” The Statue was prepared in Bedekar Sadan which is one of the buildings located in Shantaram Chawl Complex which was the hotbed of freedom movement. The residents unknowingly carry forward the legacy of the enclosed structure, a place where prominent freedom fighters like Lokmanya Tilak, Annie Basant, Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Lala Lajpat Rai used to gather to lead historic movements.

Battered but not beaten

Congress vows to go alone in BMC polls

Mumbai: Rubbishing soothsayers’ predictions of political irrelevance in the just concluded polls to 288 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats in the state, the Maharashtra Congress claimed it has made a strong comeback with a notable performance.


The party independently secured 41 posts of Municipal Presidents and 1,006 Councillor seats, plus 7 Municipal Presidents and 154 Councillors from Congress-supported local alliance, said state party President Harshwardhan Sapkal.


Conceding that polls bring both wins or losses, Sapkal said “the Congress has survived many such seasons in its long political journey”, while party leaders reiterated that it will “go solo in the BMC elections and in other civic bodies, local-level partnerships will be forged as directed by the AICC high command”.


“The results are a clear verdict in favour of democratic values over money power. Our performance again proved that ‘trust is greater than money and ideology is more important than power’. Despite limited resources and no access to state machinery, we fought with courage, conviction, grassroots mobilisation and structural strength, that have unnerved the ruling dispensation,” thundered Sapkal.


Organisational Push

The organisational push was aggressively led by Sapkal himself, along with senior leaders M. Arif Naseem Khan and Vijay Wadettiwar and a few others who campaigned vigorously across regions, including weak pockets.


“The results are a fitting reply to those who keep prophesying that the Congress is finished. The voters have decisively rejected attempts to fracture social harmony in the name of caste and religion. They have given thumbs up to the Congress ideology which alone can safeguard the nation,” Sapkal contended.


“In this ideological battle, we have not strayed even an inch. Congress lives in peoples’ hearts. We thank all our workers, candidates and voters for their support and reposing faith in us. We are now preparing for the upcoming Municipal Corporations and Zilla Parishad polls to save the state from the corrupt Mahayuti regime,” declared Sapkal.


Pep talk masks a saga of Sabotage

Behind the post-results optimism and celebratory rhetoric lies a more troubling development - of alleged sabotage and aloofness by several regional and state-level leaders during the recent civic polls, party insiders claim.


Despite the official display of ‘collective effort and ideological resolve’, the ground reality was very different and may have cost the party at least 35-40 posts of Municipal President and nearly a 1000-plus Councillors.


Multiple functionaries commended how the Sapkal-Khan-Wadettiwar trio carried out the campaign almost single-handedly, wading “neck deep” into rallies, meetings and field mobilisation, but most influential leaders chose to keep away.


“Many didn’t bother to lift a finger, even in their own strongholds. Attempts to rope them in joint rallies even in their own strongholds failed; their phones were either not-reachable or switched-off,” confided a senior office-bearer, preferring anonymity.


This proved deeply frustrating for everyone, especially grassroots workers who were valiantly battling the well-oiled Mahayuti campaign machinery on the ground, he pointed out.


Concurring, another senior functionary said that if the local satraps had given a united push, the poll results could have altered dramatically and Congress could have exceeded its 2017 performance despite fewer local bodies at the time.

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