Marathi Vishwa Ganeshotsav event – September 14, 2025

Ganeshotsav, Marathi Vishwa’s opening and mega event for the year 2025-26, was a remarkable celebration. The sold-out event was attended by nearly 1000 people.

The day started with Ganapati Puja. The Ganesh murti, adorned with colorful and fragrant flowers, was placed within the beautifully decorated aaras. The puja was performed by Guruji Smt. Sulabha Khare, and the puja couple for this year was Mr. & Mrs. Agharkar. The puja was followed by the Atharvashirsha recitation led by Smt. Khare with the participation of all attendees. The puja concluded with aarti, darshan, and prasad.

The MV Ganeshotsav 2025 began with a smooth registration process from 9:15 AM to 2:30 PM. Desks were organized alphabetically by family name, and QR-based online check-in ensured quick entry. Thanks to our 14 dedicated volunteers and strong wireless support from MV Board member Anirudha Niwargi, over 1,000 attendees checked in without delays. MV Teens assisted with the registration process, assisted Life Members, and helped with wristbands. The process was efficiently led by MV Board Members Salil Parkar, Vrushali Bhawtankar, and Dipti Karkhanis.

The decoration team, led by MV Board Members Priya Godbole and Sheetal Gaiki, meticulously planned decorations at various places throughout the venue. At the entrance, the beautiful floral rangoli was pleasingly designed to welcome our guests. The team arranged festive banana leaves Ganapati backdrop as part of a selfie stand, along with fun props especially handmade by our teen volunteer, Sargum. We also decorated all the registration desks with auspicious marigold floral strings. The main and stunning decoration (aaras) for our Bappa was exquisitely planned and meticulously arranged, and timely completed by our volunteer member, Mrs. Radhika Deshpande. She was aptly helped by our volunteers, Atul Riswadkar and Pradnya Narnaware. MV Board Member, Kanchan Joshi, along with a few enthusiastic volunteers, worked on getting the flower petals and Pedhe ready for distribution during and after the aarti. The final and important stage decoration, with a huge colorful festive backdrop and floral mango leaves garlands, set the stage to welcome our esteemed artists. MV Board member Kanchan Joshi, along with new Board Member Ajinkya Pawar and volunteer Makarand Joshi, set up the backdrop curtain and MV standee on the stage and decorated it with garlands.

Following the performance, attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Rajbhog, featuring shrikhand, batate wada, and more. This year’s meal was generously sponsored by Life Members, Mr. Shreeram and Mrs. Ratna Agharkar in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. We extend our heartfelt thanks and warm wishes to them for their continued support to Marathi Vishwa.

MV Board member, Anirudha Niwargi and new board member Sachin Kulkarni worked tirelessly on selecting food vendor, menu finalization and food order for 1000 people, other important food logistics, event day coordination with volunteers and food helpers, tea arrangements, and load/ unload logistics from/ to storage with Mandar Kelkar & Ajinkya Pawar.

The afternoon began with the Oath Ceremony, led by MV Trustee Sandeep Dharam, for all committee members. Retiring Board members Sheetal Gaiki and Shalaka Sawant were honored with plaques and bouquets, while we welcomed new members Sachin Kulkarni and Ajinkya Pawar. The existing executive committee will continue for 2025–26.

We also honored Mr. Satish and Mrs. Snehal Tamhankar, respected and adored ‘Yog Gurus’ of Marathi Vishwa, for their dedication to teaching Yoga for many years to our community.

The first program of the day was the musical program ‘Strings of Harmony’, a brilliant Sitar Performance by the duo, Chirag and Chintan Katti, accompanied on Tabla by the young and talented Vivek Pandya (A Long Island resident and Swaradhara participant from 2013). They mesmerized the audience with their amazing talent for close to one and a half hours.

The second and much-awaited program of the day, ‘Apoorvai’, was presented by the eminent poet, Shri Vaibhav Joshi, the monarch of the flute kingdom, Shri Amar Oak, and the young, talented, and versatile singer, Ms. Sharayu Date. They were superbly accompanied by Vikram Bhat on Tabla, Darshana Jog on Keyboard, and Rohan Vanage on Octo pad. Mr. Praful Mestri provided flawless audio support for the program. The program ended with a huge round of applause, while the artists were felicitated with plaques.

MV successfully managed the logistics of artists for both programs. Three artists for the Sitar program and six artists for the Apoorvai program arrived early in the morning on event day. Our team coordinated their food and travel arrangements, ensuring a smooth experience throughout their visit. With the dedicated support of our volunteers Priya and Sandeep Gondil, Vijay Krishnamurthy, Rahul Gune, Jayant Deshpande, and board member Roopali Gune all logistics were handled efficiently and without issue. Their efforts were instrumental in providing seamless hospitality. We are happy to share that both artist groups expressed their appreciation for the arrangements, highlighting the smooth coordination and warm support they received.

We had a fantastic turnout with 31 kids (ages 6+) at our Art & Craft session led by Priti Bhute during MV Ganeshotsav. The young artists left with proud smiles and handmade masterpieces, while parents enjoyed a relaxing time in the auditorium. Big thanks to MV Teens for their wonderful support during the session.

There were 11 vendor booths comprising both new and long-term partners, ready for attendees by 9:30 AM. Vendor booths were strategically located along the main attendee path, from registration to the auditorium, to enhance visibility. Vendors sold merchandise ranging from Tax Planning, Life Insurance, and Investment services to Sarees, Jewelry, and Organic food products. We also had three not-for-profit charitable organizations at the event. A dedicated vendor management team, led by Board Member Salil Parkar with Co-Lead Vrushali Bhawtankar ensured a smooth experience for vendors by providing essential supplies and support. Each booth experienced strong attendee traffic and engagement throughout the day.

Kudos and a round of applause to the hauling and logistics team, as the preparations for the event day started around 7 pm the day before the event. The U-Haul truck was picked up by Ajinkya Pawar, and the heavy risers, props, Makhar, Palkhi, and other items were loaded into it with the help of able volunteers Shantanu Kulkarni and MV board members Mandar Kelkar, Sachin Kulkarni, and Ajinkya Pawar himself. The unloading started early next morning at the venue and all the relevant items were distributed to their respective stations (cafeteria, registration, decoration, backstage, etc.).  After the event, the truck was reloaded, unloaded back at the storage late at night and returned to the U-Haul location.

Finally, we are incredibly proud of our MV Teens for volunteering their time and stepping up to help wherever needed during the MV Ganeshotsav event! Check out the MV Teens Blog https://marathivishwa.org/category/mv-teens-blog/

Even with such detailed planning, if there were any oversights, the MV team is pleased to revisit them at the next event. Your cooperation and trust in the organization’s core values will keep the Marathi traditions alive.

Bappa’s Uttar-puja and aarti were followed by an energetic procession with Taal and clapping where the attendees participated with great enthusiasm. The celebration concluded with Bappa’s visarjan with a promise to return next year.

Please enjoy the pictures at the links below.

Link 1 – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B9N4bTAZq/

Link 2 – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A2ZBBTs7b/

Link 3 – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JXsAiELff/

Link 4 – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17TTYyzZHW/

Thanks,

Marathi Vishwa Committee