Pune: Market Yard Ganesh Mandal Decorates Idol With Vegetables, Fruits To Honour Farmers

Pune: In a unique tribute to farmers and the city’s agri-trade identity, a Ganesh mandal in Pune’s Market Yard has adorned its idol not with flowers or lights, but with vegetables, fruits and root crops.

Shri Sharada Gajanan Mandal at Gultekdi Market Yard, the city’s main wholesale hub for fruits and vegetables, has created an elaborate ‘bhajipala aaras’ a decoration made entirely from farm produce that has become a major attraction for devotees this Ganeshotsav.

The mandal has used leafy greens, radish, carrot, chilli, brinjal, tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, along with various fruits and tubers to artistically decorate the sanctum around Lord Ganesha. The design highlights the journey of produce from farm to plate.

Yogesh, a member of the mandal, said, “The idea is to underline the importance of the farm produce that reaches our plates through the hard work of Baliraja and to highlight the bond between farmers, traders, Mathadi workers and consumers.”

Pune’s Ganeshotsav is known for blending religious fervour with social messaging, and the Market Yard mandal has stayed true to that tradition.

The mandal has a history of civic and social interventions. It had earlier shown foresight by pioneering an alternative route for immersion processions via Tilak Road, which helped decongest the heavily crowded Laxmi Road route during visarjan.

The mandal said the vegetables used for decoration will be distributed after the festival to avoid wastage.