Yavatmal maintains its unique tradition of Navaratri celebration

Most sought-after for its colourful and lavish celebrations of the Navaratri festival, the Cotton City is all set to maintain its name as ‘Maharashtra’s Kolkota’ with Mandals ready with huge pendals and sculptures giving final touches to the Durga idols…

With thousands of volunteers across the city working days and nights to make hundreds of huge Durga Pooja pendals ready for the nine-day festivity of Navaratri; Yavatmal, known as ‘Maharashtra’s Kolkota’, is all set to welcome mesmerizing idols of the Goddess to be adorned in these pandals. The ambience of the city is also very religious and sanctified these days.

“Coming out of the grief of famers’ suicides, Yavatmal is celebrating the Navaratri Festival with the old-time enthusiasm this year, thanks to the good rainfall and promising condition of crops,” said Pawan Mainde of Mainde Chowk Durga Utsav Mandal. Many Mandals are making replicas of famous temples, mostly from South India and Bengal. “We have invited experts from Mumbai and Kolkota for the task,” informs Abhishek Ingle.

One of the most popular Mandals, ‘Gandhi Chowk Durga Utsav Mandal’ is completing fifty years this year. Similarly, the oldest Mandal in Aathawadi Bazar (Where they have constructed a permanent temple now) is celebrating 89^th year. Many Mandals like the one in Datta Chowk, established by late Babbi Pahelwan, and the one in Jaihind Chowk are very much near to complete fifty years. The Goddess is worshipped by more than 450 mandals in Yavatmal. This number is very large for the town with population around ten lakh. The number of registering Mandals increases every year. However, applications for temporary electric meters are highest this year.

The most colourful locality during the Navaratri is the Main Line area. Here, Durga Pooja pandal can be found in almost every square. Being a businessmen’s area, the lavishness reflects through the huge lightings and decorations. “Each and every street of Main Line gets illuminated during Navaratri. Festivity begins with Gandhi Chowk Mandal installing the idol and Ghata, before all other Mandals, around 6 am,” informs Snehal Wankar, member of Wankar family, who creates idol for this Mandal since its establishment.

Presently, third generation of the Wankars, fondly called as ‘Wankar Painters’ is working in Yavatmal. Their forefathers gave a face to Yavatmal’s Durga festival. “We are fortunate to be considered as Yavatmal’s prime sculptures. It is our traditional profession, but, the new generation is also getting formal training in it,” adds Snehal. His workshop is full of idols, and he has several new boys working with him, too. “We always need enthusiastic youngsters who wanted to learn this art,” says Snehal, who badly misses his brother Sachin who passed away earlier this year. “We had to cut short the number of idols due to his absence. Otherwise, we used to supply idols all over the Vidarbha, including Nagpur,” he recalls. 

Similar to the Wankars, one more sculpture family in Yavatmal, the Manekars also supply Durga idols all over Central India. “Idols from Yavatmal have special demand as they are made with special touch,” says Sunil Manekar in whose workshop, more than thirty idols are being given final touches. “Five of these are to be sent to Nagpur,” he adds. The Manekar family is in the artists’ profession since three generations. The youngsters are learning this art under the experienced elders in this workshop. “Inflation has its effect on our business, too,” accepts Manekar adding that there is around 30 per cent hike this year in the prices of idols.

“But, in Yavatmal, the enthusiasm is priceless! We work hard to make the people happy. This is not mere a profession for us, but we consider it as a service to the almighty,” when Sunil Manekar says, he speaks out the sentiment of every Yavatmalkar, who is getting engaged in the city’s most beloved celebration of Navaratri.