GANESHKHIND

            It is indeed a strange coincidence that the elephant God is worshipped with a fervor that is unparalleled anywhere in India, in a state where the animal is not naturally found! Pune happens to be a city where about 56 temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha from the very famous Dagdusheth Halwai to the Kasba Ganpati to Talyatla Ganpati to the relatively unknown Gundacha Ganpati, all abound to make the city a hub of the icon of learning and knowledge – a virtue epitomized by Lord Ganesh. But here in one of its corners, tucked away behind a maze of flyovers and gleaming commercial buildings, behind a maze of ‘vada- pav’ and photocopying shops lies the temple of Ganeshkhind. In Marathi ‘khind’ means a pass – one formed by a small hillock in the Pune University premises and the Chaturshrungi Hill, a part of the city’s geography that is clearly seen from atop the tower of the Main Building of the Pune University. The temple renovated by Jijamata (chatrapati Shivaji’s mother) in the early nineteenth century has suffered from lack of official recognition in the recent times.The District Gazetter completely ignores the temple from the list of places while the name of Ganeshkhind is used to locate the former Governor’s palace and as a venue for the assassination of Walter Charles Rand on 22 June 1897 by the Chapekar Brothers of Chinchwad. Even today if you ask many Puneites the location of the Ganesh Temple that gives a large area called Ganeshkhind its name few will be able to spot it!

There is yet a dedicated group of devotees who not only visit the temple on a daily basis but were concerned with the state of the premises and were willing to take the initiative and contribute towards its change without anything in return. A change from its situation of enamel painted surfaces, shiny flooring, fluorescent lights, plaster of paris false ceilings, brick walls and fabricated steel grilles. Change from the indifference towards its history, origins, contributions by early restorers and developers to the search for its past that would befit its future and express the sentiments and aspirations of the present generation towards its past! The team at Rohan Builders co-ordinated with Chandrashekhar Babhle, the most humble priest and caretaker of the temple who stays in the same premises, the architects at ‘Kimaya’ to evolve a workable scheme that would complement the grace of the seventeenth and eighteenth century architecture. The work started with first documenting the existing situation followed by a brief proposal to set out the direction of the work. Undoing the recent layers of enamel paint from timber surfaces, cement paint on stone surfaces and removing all those accretions from the older surfaces of the temple was a slow and laborious process that went on for at least three months. A new technique of fine sand blasting where a controlled spray of finely ground garnet stone powder is forced on the surface with the help of compressed air was used to remove paint without damaging original surfaces. Earlier this process would be completed either by chipping away with light hammers and chisels or blowing a flame through a blow torch. The timber columns of the mandap that were showing signs of decay at the lower ends were partially replaced with good seasoned teakwood and providing stone chairs to arrest any further decay. Brick walls built around the timber mandap and as fillers in stone arches of the stone mandap were removed and replaced with teak wood railings designed to harmonize with the architecture. The problematic joint between the timber and the stone mandap was treated with lead flashings 2mm thick. This is because lead is an extremely malleable and highly lasting material for at least 200 years.

There was a time when the lonely temple was a small place away from the city of Pune. As the urban sprawl caught up with the temple modern buildings were built around it. The deepmals (light towers)that were built across the temple were claimed by adjoining property holders and other smaller parts of the temple that were once a part of the complete experience are now fragmented into zealously contested terrains. The act of laying flooring in the temple yard that is used by the devotees to perform the circumambulation was an act of affirmation that no further claims be laid on the ritual path that is a part of the worship. Though there is a complete lack of historic evidences in the form of written references the oral histories abound. It is said that while on her way to worship the Someshwar Temple at Pashan Jijamata heard the chanting of the ‘Arthrvashirsha’ ( a late Upanishad that celebrates Ganesha as the embodiment of the ultimate Brahman) by a learned Brahmin at this temple. There was obviously an older shrine in the place that was replaced by the new patronage. This temple was also known as the Parvatinandan Ganesh at that time. The learned Brahmin informed Jijamata about an idol of Lord Ganesh behind the Lal Mahal. She was also urged to build the Kasba Ganapati Mandir which would bless her son with the fulfillment of his ambitions. Jijamata promptly carried out the wishes of the Brahmin and also promoted the renovation of the Parvatinandan temple and sunk a well for the benefit of the people there. The next most important piece of oral history then shifts to almost a century later when a devotee by the name of Shivrambhat Chitrav visited the temple regularly. He carried out the necessary repairs and while cleaning the well found considerable wealth hidden at the base of the well. When he carried the wealth to Bajirao Peshwa I the Peshwa asked him to use the wealth in the service of the temple. The timber mandap was probably constructed from this donation as it was common to build mandaps in the Peshwa period in teakwood. We see similar works undertaken during the period in several temples like the Kasba, Jogeshwari, Gundacha Ganapati, Belbag, etc. The balance left over after making the additions to the temple were the deposited in the treasury in the reign of Shreemant Nanasahed Peshwa (after 1740). A yearly grant of Rs 1880/- was paid towards the maintenance of the temple precinct. The next two references are through copper plates found during the repirs in the timber mandap where it joins the stone structure. The first is a 4” x 6” plate in Marathi and English dated 1885 May by one Mahadeo Wasudeo Barve of Ratnagiri, Nevre Taluka, who repaired the Mandap. Soon afterwards another plate dated Oct 1899 is found that is in Marathi in the name of Martand Bapuji Jejurkar.

It is now imminent that all these references be properly documented and also to treat the premises as a historic document in itself where no changes to its form and content are to be made to ensure long term protection of the structure. Regular Maintenance of the timber work by applying linseed oil, repairs to the pointing of the stone masonry in the original style and material of lime and the use of lime based paints in the painting of the shikhar should form a part of the maintenance manual for the premises.

As the debates in the city and the country are gearing up in regard to economics of conservation of historic and cultural property, this example of surpluses generated by a construction company that are being used in not only the process of conservation but that the project was used as a case to build capacity among personnel of the company to carry out conservation work can serve as a successful example. Some new techniques and its economics were explored while the craft related to other traditional material like lime mortar (donated by a house builder by the name of Ravi Pasalkar who is building his house using scientifically prepared hydraulic lime mortar), teak wood and basalt stone were reused. The stonemasons replaced some of the weathered basalt stones from the outer surfaces of the temple with similar material dressed to the same size, texture and fitted the stones in lime mortar. A new doorway was rebuilt as the older one was in a poor shape. All electrical were re-laid using teak wood casings in place of the plastic conduits and casings.  The historic well is covered and is inside a hall built by the temple trustees where there would once be an open yard to the north of the mandap. The people who continue to live around the temple would do so and so would people visiting and worshipping other shrines in the vicinity. The fragmentary and subsidiary shrines are now worshipped and claimed by different people and form a little world of parochial approaches to ownership literally and figuratively. One hopes that Lorg Ganesha grants a wider and deeper wisdom to the custodians of these shrines that rises above the petty squabbles and claims to have a wholistic and egalitarian approach that will enrich community living and the city at large.

 

Kiran Kalamdani

Ganesh Chturthi

9 9 2013