Vijay Park Friends' Circle

Ganesh Utsav Program Details 2022

Vijay Park Friends' Circle : It's been 18 years!

18 years of promoting art and culture in our children's lives with the blessings of the Yashaskarmaya (Bestower of fame and fortune).

18 years of appreciating the students who have topped their exams with the blessings of the Sarvasiddhantaya (Bestower of skill and knowledge).

18 years of coordinating blood donation drives with the guidance of the Mrityunjayaya (Conqueror of death).

18 years of organizing sporting events with the divine care of the Varadavinayakaya (Bestower of success).

18 years of nurturing the lessons of humility, caring and benevolence by the Gunamanditaya (The one adorned by virtue).

18 years of advocating the importance of eco-friendliness while worshipping the Sarvaatmanaya (Protector of the universe).

But most importantly, 18 years of receiving complete and heartfelt support in bringing home our Vighnaharta… our Gunapravishta… our Lord Ganesha.

Our sincere thanks to each of the societies of Vijay Park, the Federation, our well-wishers and, of course, the residents of Vijay Park who have encouraged us every step of the way and have stood by our side like rocks. These 18 years would never have been possible without you.

Here's looking forward to the next 18 years of growing stronger together as one big family.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya!

We look forward to your feedback and suggestion so that we can improve our activities with each passing year.EMAIL US

About Us

We are exactly what our name says we are — a circle of friends

We originally got together because of our eagerness to celebrate Ganesh Utsav as a group. With each passing year, the fun we had increased and so did the amount of responsibility we had to handle. In spite of the pressures related to work and our personal lives, we took the time out to work as a team.

Without a doubt, we can say that the vital lessons we have learned since the inception of VPFC have guided us in every walk of life. In the long run, this has also helped us understand the value of a caring society. This can be seen from the fact that the members of VPFC are always ready to extend our time and effort to help anyone in need, be it a member of VPFC or just a random resident of Vijay Park.

Over the past eighteen years, the passing fancy to form a group to have fun during the Ganesh Utsav has escalated and become a passion for all of us. This year, we have taken this passion a step further. We realize that there is much more to nurturing a healthy society than just celebrating a festival together. Keeping this in mind, we have taken a more socially-committed stance since 2009. With global warming threatening every aspect of our life, from the climate to the price of vegetables, we have taken up the responsibility of creating awareness in the society about the need to preserve our resources and protect our environment.

Our Team

The endeavours we plan to organise is actively supported and spearheaded by our members:.

President
Mr. Ashutosh Mest
Secretary
Mr. Amit Salunkhe
Treasurer
Mr. Ashish Kamble
Mr. Vinayak Prabhu
Mr. Anant Pandirkar
Mr. Rajesh Pillai
Mr. Priyaj Bhalerao
Mr. Ganesh Iyer
Mr. Prasad Kargutkar
Mr. Vinay Morje
Mr. Kaustubh Rane
Mr. Pritesh Sawant
Mr. Nimesh Singh
Mr. Nirmal Choudhary

Mr. Amit Amdekar
Mr. Kapil Mehta
Mr. Avinash Pandirkar
Mr. Sandeep Mahadik
Mr. Pravin Kale
Mr. C. V. Venkateshwaran
Mr. Yatin Kadam
Mr. Vinod Kumarswamy
Mr. Sudhakar Ammanna

Mrs. Sumitra Pillai
Mrs. Bharati Pandirkar
Ms. Anuja Deshpande
Ms. Sharon D’souza
Mrs. Kavita Yadav
Mrs. Sangeeta Morje
Mrs. Vibha Salunkhe
Mrs. Pranali Singh
Ms. Nitha Jayachandran
Mrs. Seema Khopkar
Mrs. Lekha Venkat
Ms. Pavitra Hariharan
Ms. Upasna Hariharan
Ms. Laxmi Kumarswamy

Ganesh Utsav

Program details for 2019

Origin of the Ganpati Festival

This colourful festival is a very Maharashtrian one, which is celebrated with great gusto. In fact it is the most popular festival in the State. There are several reasons for this. Ganpati is after all a popular god. His blessings are invoked at most religious ceremonies as he is the god who can remove all obstacles to success. He is the giver of fortune and can help to avoid natural calamities. He is also the god who brings prosperity.

Ganpati, the god of wisdom and the benevolent deity of the dynasty of Peshwas who ruled Maharashtra inculcating a special culture in the state. Ganpati is the herald of auspicious beginnings and is the beloved deity of all Maharashtrians.

The Ganeshutsav was celebrated at the houses of leading Sardar families like Patwardhan, Mujumdar, Khasgiwale etc. In 1893, Sardar Nanasaheb Khasgiwale for the first time celebrated the utsav as a public festival and that year Ghotawdekar, Kasgiwale and Bhau Rangari these three sarvajanik Ganesh utsav's were celebrated and for the first time There was a procession also taken out on the roads. The well known freedom fighter and statesman, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, saw in the festival a way of uniting people in a common cause and in this manner a possible means of bringing about political consciousness under the guise of a religious celebration, with freedom for India being the ultimate goal. Lokmanya Tilak also started celebrating Ganesutsav as a public festival by establishing a Sarvajanik Ganpati at Vinchurkarwada in 1894 and today it is the most popular event in the State. It was a unique move by this freedom fighter, which he achieved with the Ganpati Visarjana or immersion procession which is taken out on the final day of the ganesh festival.

The ten-day festival starts from the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month, Bhadrapada and continues till the fourteenth day. Thousands join in and form the many processions that fill the streets when the time comes for the image to be immersed in water... the sea, river or lake. The festival brings with it a feeling of comradeship.

However, it is the stupendous scale of this festival, celebrated by communities of people in the cities and villages of Maharashtra, which attracts millions of people to the state. Some of the community idols are as tall as 20 metres. These are set up in large pandals, worshipped for 10 days and then taken to the sea in immense processions for immersion. Not only are the massive idols the attraction of the festival, the plays, musical soirees, contests of skill, bullock cart races, swimming galas -all of which are planned in different venues -are events which show the enthusiasm of the people. Undoubtedly, Maharashtrians love Ganpati.