Anil Purohit
It’s easy to miss Shivtirth Palace on the road snaking past Nagesh Maharudra Temple in Ponda. Set back from the narrow village road, the palace sits back in a stately building enclosed by a compound that shares an access with the adjoining Nagesh temple. However, the moment you step through the entrance and take a spacious corridor skirting a large open courtyard, past a Lord Ganesha and Goddess Gauri installations on a raised waist-high arched platform supporting pillars with painted murals of flowers, lion, and soldier, you’re soon brought up short in surprise at a display of a large armoury comprising of a variety of vintage guns and swords.
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It becomes evident you’re face to face with a royal armoury. And a row of photos and paintings on a wall along the corridor depicting formal portraits, some in royal regalia, confirms you’re in a palace of an erstwhile royal dynasty. Over 260 years old, the Shivtirth Palace in Bandora, also known as Soundekar Palace, comes alive to devotees from neighbouring villages and beyond thronging it during Ganesh Chaturthi when the palace throws open its doors to those seeking blessings of Lord Ganesh. In an annual ritual maintained over the years, the descendants of the Soundekar royal dynasty dating back from the 16th century observe Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations over five days at their traditional palace home in Bandora.
They install a smaller idol of Lord Ganesha worshipped by the royal family, and a larger gold-painted one for villagers from their erstwhile area of influence and beyond. The royal armoury on display during Ganesh Chaturthi is of particular interest to devotees visiting the deity, drawing excited reactions and animated discussions on its vintage and provenance. And together with mudgars on display, a heavy wooden training club used in traditional exercises, particularly by wrestlers, they point to the martial history of the Soundekar kings. A deep and abiding bond of affection is shared among the people of neighbouring wadas in Bandora for the erstwhile Soundekar dynasty.
The bond is renewed periodically during major festivals and during events of religious significance observed in the adjoining Nagesh Maharudra temple when the current titular king and descendant of the Soundekar (Sonda) dynasty, Nageshkumar Sadashiv Soundekar Wodeyar, participates in and leads the festivities. As years cycle by, and times change, the palace, its history and the meaning it holds in the geography it made its home in centuries ago, transcends times and secures its memories both as a living tangible and intangible heritage of the people it once represented.
Katrina Kaif’s appearance at the Ambani family’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebration at Mumbai sparked a wave of comments online. The actor, who recently became a mother, arrived at ‘Antilia’ in a pastel-coloured traditional outfit along with her husband Vicky Kaushal. Several fans welcomed her public appearance, while others commented on her post-pregnancy look, with some criticising her weight and appearance. Fans came to her defence following the trolling, urging social-media users to be more respectful towards the actor’s body and appearance after childbirth. Katrina’s appearance also marked one of her first major public outings since welcoming her first child. Note: The palace is open to visitors seeking blessings of Lord Ganesh, observed for five days.
