🐘 Ganeshotsav
Ten days in Bhadrapad, between 22 August and 20 September
Ganesh idols are installed at home and in public pandals, and immersed in a grand procession on the last day.
- Lokmanya Tilak turned it into a public festival; in 1893 he praised the public Ganeshotsav in his newspaper Kesari
- Bhausaheb Rangari installed one of the first public (sarvajanik) Ganesh idols, in his wada
- Kasba Ganapati, the gramdevta of Pune, is the first "Manacha Ganpati" and leads the immersion procession
- Pune has over 150 dhol-tasha pathaks
- Declared a Maharashtra state festival on 10 July 2025
⚖️ The articles give 1892, 1893 and 1894 for the start of the public festival.
Source 1Source 2Source 3
🚩 Palkhi (Pandharpur Wari)
Ashadha (June–July), ending on Ashadhi Ekadashi
Pilgrims walk to Pandharpur for about three weeks, carrying the padukas of the saints in palkhis.
- Sant Dnyaneshwar's palkhi leaves from Alandi and Sant Tukaram's from Dehu, both in Pune district
- The palkhis halt in Pune, in Nana Peth and Bhavani Peth, before moving on via Hadapsar
⚖️ The article gives both 20 and 21 days, and both "700 to 800" and "more than 800" years of history.
Source 1
🎶 Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav
Three days in the first half of December
One of India's best-known festivals of Hindustani classical music.
- Started in 1953 by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, in memory of his guru Sawai Gandharva
- Renamed after Bhimsen Joshi died in 2011; held at Mukund Nagar since 2018
Source 1
🪔 Diwali Pahat
Early mornings of Diwali
Morning music concerts during Diwali.
- Originated in Pune as a music festival on Diwali mornings
Source 1
