More than two weeks of restoration-related closure, Pune’s Kasba Ganpati Temple has been opened to devotees on Wednesday.
To wash away the thick layers of sindoor (vermillion) that had long covered the Kasba Ganpati idol, the temple was closed on December 15. Temple authorities said that around 900 kg of sindoor had been washed away during the closure.
“Centuries of religious offerings of sindoor had led to the formation of the earlier known form of the idol. After the removal process, a newly emerged and much smaller structure has been revealed,” temple trustee Vinayak Bajirao Thakar told the Indian Express, adding that the Kasba Temple Trust got guidance from the archaeological department, along with Deccan College, the heritage department and Indologists, including Dr G B Deglurkar.
Reportedly, the original idol, the stone canopy above it, and the sanctum sanctorum have been kept intact. Measuring 2 feet in length and nearly 1.5 feet in width, the idol is a traditional Chaturbhuj form, depicted with four hands. The deity’s trunk is aligned to the left, and the deity is seated in the Ardha Padmasana pose.
Reportedly, the task took 15 days, and it was the first time that such an exercise had been undertaken in the temple’s recorded history. The sindoor samples have been submitted to the archaeological department and Deccan College for a detailed study, following which the archaeological details of the idol will be released.
As the sindoor paste had started damaging the protective cover around the idol, which prompted the decision to remove the layers. Moreover, the temple trustees have invited devotees to a five-day grand celebration that will continue till January 4, to mark the unveiling of the idol.
