Midnight fever on Laxmi Rd

The entire Laxmi Road came alive about 90 minutes past midnight when the mandals in the main procession restarted playing the traditional instruments.

The entire Laxmi Road came alive about 90 minutes past midnight when the mandals in the main procession restarted playing the traditional instruments. The thumping beats of dhol and tasha joined the shouts of Ganpati Bappa Moraya,which enlivened the processions that were proceeding quietly for over an hour.

We had stopped playing for one hour. But when we heard the mandal ahead of us playing dhol,we also followed suit. We then got to know that traditional instruments have been allowed, said Mahesh Dave,treasurer,Babu Genu Mandal.

The wave spread like fire and the entire Laxmi Road was again caught in a fever. Mandals like Babu Genu,Jilbya Maruti and Garud Ganpati started their traditional music again.

People come to the city from far just to witness the grand procession. The grandeur of the procession is lost when music is banned. We have been strictly following the trend of keeping traditional band and have not erected walls of speakers or DJs with loud music. We thus decided to continue with the dhol and are happy that even the police did not object any further, said Bhushan Pandya of Jilbya Maruti Mandal. The viewers were the happiest lot as their sleepless night suddenly turned worth remaining awake.

The final-day procession is nothing without music. We are enjoying like anything and are happy that the cops have finally learnt to differentiate between annoying music and traditional,disciplined beats of dhol,tasha and dhwaj, said Sangram Pawar,one of them.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories