Kopar Khairane Ganesh mandal recreates Satara's Bavdhan Bagad Yatra in 20-foot replica

As Ganeshotsav arrives, mandals across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai put up a variety of tableaux and decorations carrying social messages every year. This year too several mandals chose unconventional themes, and one of them is the Maoli Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal in Kopar Khairane. The mandal has put up a 20-foot-tall replica of the Bavdhan Bagad Yatra, a procession from Bavdhan village in Satara district that is famous across the state.

On the day before Ganpati Bappa arrived at the mandal, it recreated a glimpse of Bavdhan's royal procession and palanquin ceremony. Then, on the day of the idol's arrival, Ganpati himself was seated on the "bagad" and taken out in a procession. About 20 musicians and performers of martial folk games from Bavdhan village took part in this procession. The two-day programme was conducted entirely in the traditional manner.

Although the Bavdhan Bagad Yatra is well known, not everyone gets a chance to see it in person. Rather than people watching it through reels or photographs, the mandal wanted residents of its own locality to be able to experience the yatra directly, which is why it took up this idea. Notably, this time the celebration went ahead without any DJ or banjo music at all, accompanied instead by traditional instruments and martial folk games, giving the celebrations in the area a distinct flavour.

The mandal had very small beginnings. In 2011, a group of children sitting on the steps of a chawl in Kopar Khairane's Sector 3 decided to celebrate Ganeshotsav and installed a Ganpati idol in the chawl's office. Over the years, these same children grew up, and their determination grew with them. Today this small celebration is recognised across the entire area, and the mandal's Ganpati has become famous as "God Ganpati" (Sweet Ganpati).

In 2022, the mandal brought a standing Ganesh idol for the first time, and the journey of the 14-foot-tall "God Ganpati" began from the narrow chawl. This year, however, the mandal decided to celebrate Ganeshotsav in a fully traditional manner and put up the 20-foot replica of Satara's Bavdhan Bagad Yatra. Work on it had been going on for the past five months. In May, the yatra was studied closely through discussions with dignitaries and people connected to it in Bavdhan village, after which the bagad chariot and everything associated with the yatra were recreated faithfully with the help of the villagers themselves.

For the next five years, the mandal has planned a concept of "five major yatras of Maharashtra," and this year's Bavdhan Bagad Yatra has been chosen as the first in that series. Apart from Ganeshotsav, the Maoli Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal also runs various social, educational and health-related initiatives throughout the year, reflecting the mandal's effort to connect Ganeshotsav to social and cultural activities rather than keeping it just a festival.