In Good Faith

The women braving rains and claustrophobia gather neatly in 24 rows and start chanting the Atharvasheesh mantras at 6 am. They sing devotional songs in perfect unison. Post that,they all go for darshan. Everything is coordinated to the last detail. Arun and Shubhangi Bhalerao have been the orchestrators of this programme every year since its inception. Having started with a modest number of only 100 women back in 1986,the programme has grown by leaps and bounds. Bhalerao says,“My wife used to conduct Atharvasheesh Pathan classes for women at our house. In 1986,Ashok ‘Tatya’ Godse requested us to conduct the programme on a bigger scale to revive the then flagging tradition of the Ganeshotsav. In the 80s,the festival was at an all-time-low what with most mandals using it as an excuse to drink,gamble and even molest people under the garb of celebrating it. The true meaning of the festival was getting lost. Thus we started the first Atharvasheesh Pathan in 1986 with the 100 women who used to attend the class.”

What started with 100 women moved to 1500 the next year and slowly increased to 19000 women last year. Bhalerao adds,“It was only in 2009 that we did not have the programme because of Swine Flu. But the next year saw a turnout of 19,000. This year again the turnout was low (5500 – 6000 women) owing to the heavy rains. What is important is that the tradition has been established.”

Bhalerao’s wife Shubhangi feels that women are the ideal torchbearers for moral and religious values. “We always urge participating women to go back and conduct similar functions in the mandals in their neighbourhoods. The idea is to remove all negative elements and influences and unify the society on the whole,” she says.

About the impact of the programme,Bhalerao adds,“There are 40,000 mandals in the state. People,mostly women,come from places like Nashik,Satara,and Sholapur and then go back to start the same in their hometowns. This is what we had always wanted.”