Professor and historian Prajal Sakhardande is known for the various heritage walks and
tours he participates in and organises. Lately, Prajal has been part of a tour
in his own village, Mashel, by Soul Travelling as part of ‘Exploring Marcel’
trip. Buoyed by the festivities that are reverberating throughout the state,
Prajal has praised some Ganesh Dekhavas from his village, which is a treasure
trove for the history buffs.
“Mashel is famous for
the Ganpati Dekhava Chitra. Sanjay and his brother Girish Navelkar are always
at their creative best. Here, the Ganpati has been made of several earthen
lamps (pontyo),” says Prajal, while speaking about the beauty of the art on
display.
He further praised
the creativity of Mashlkars for paying tribute to the historic status of the
village with eye-catching dekhavas and highlighted what he described to be a
beautiful dekhava – the Ganpati made of pink umbrellas, set up in the village.
The historian further
described the shape and elements of the Ganpati idols and the reasons behind
them.
“The
Deity symbolises knowledge, nature, environment and culture. Every aspect of
Lord Ganapati can be explained scientifically symbolically. His half elephant
half human figure symbolises the connect between animal and human beings. His
eyes are small hence discerning. The belly shows prosperity. White and yellow
pitambers symbolise peace serenity and a bright sunny nature respectively. The
rat at the feet is symbolic of control of the rodent from desecrating
agriculture as Ganapati is an agricultural deity. The Matoli symbolises the
fertility of nature, fruits and vegetables in abundance in Shravan Bhadrapad.
Durva is offered as it has medicinal value. Sukh karta Dukh Harta was penned by
Swami Ramdas in circa 1650. Red hibiscus symbolises red blood and thereby life.
His icon made of mud symbolises his mother Parvati, who is mother earth. Hence
Ganapati symbolises happiness, prosperity people’s rule and agricultural
bounty.