While Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Lokmanya) is known to have started and popularised the Ganpati festival in Pune, credit for the first ever public festival for the elephant god goes to Bhausaheb Laxman Javale, affectionately known as Bhausaheb Rangari, in 1892. Even today, the Bhau Rangari Ganpati stands out on account of its long and involved history. Coming into its 125th year, the mandal at Bhausaheb Rangari Bhavan — a treasure trove of ancient memorabilia — plans to establish a museum here, displaying all manner of weaponry, artefacts and documents.“Bhausaheb Javale was an Ayurveda doctor who treated patients for free. Their business was that of dyeing sarees, especially the shalu (regional variant of a Benarasi), which is how he acquired the name Rangari. The Bhavan was also a meeting point for freedom fighters and it was Javale who first started the public Ganesh festival by bringing together people from various Pagad Jati (castes). Back then, it used to be simply called Ganesh Mandal and was only later renamed the Bhau Rangari trust,” said Suraj Renuse, one of the trustees.“In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak wrote a piece praising Javale’s work in the paper Kesari. “Subsequently, in 1894, Tilak, too, started with a public Ganesh festival at Vinchurkar Wada. He even became one of the trustees of this Mandal. As its popularity rose, when Javale passed away in 1905, he left his property for the Mandal to continue functioning,” said Rajendra Gupta, secretary of the trust.In keeping with the Mandal’s distinctive style, the idol here, made of wood and paper, is shown killing a demon, said to be symbolic of the monstrosity of British rule.The Bhavan also served as the centre from where permissions for Ganpati processions were handled and is one of the attractions shown in a heritage walk through the city.“We were planning the route for the Pune Heritage Walk, when someone from the trust approached us. The Ganeshotsav and the freedom struggle period are important parts of Pune’s history, which is why we decided to include the site. So far, over 2,500 people have visited it. We have also extended our support to the trust for their conservation work,” said Prajakta Divekar, deputy director, of heritage at NGO Janwani, which conducts this walk.PHOTO CAPTION1. A variety of pistols, rifles and ammunition have been found here. The ammunition was found systematically wrapped in red cloth and has been preserved as is. All of this used to be hidden in small slots made on the wall which were covered when the door opened in thin vertical closets. One such slot was also made in the devghar which was was not easily visible.2. Articles written in those days, including the one written by Tilak in Kesari on September 26, 1893 will be part of the museum. There is also a copy of an article from 1894 which talks about Hindu-Muslim riots on Daruwala Bridge in Pune where Bhausaheb Rangari intervened. He was subsequently arrested and later pronounced innocent.3. Around a decade ago, while cleaning up, the trustees found a half-buried item. On extracting it from the mud, they found it to be a beautifully created chest which too will be put on display. It was believed that it was used to hide weapons. The desk, too, was found in a similar way on the same day and it was most probably used by Bhausaheb Rangari for work.4. It may look like an ordinary door, but this is actually something of a mechanical wonder. With British officers patrolling the city to keep freedom fighters from meeting, it was imperative for doors to remain closed. The Bhavan has a front door and two back doors. Under one of horizontal bars of the front door, was a small hidden button. Even if the door was locked from the inside, a person in the know could press this button and open not just this door, but all the others, too.5. The Ganesh idol here is seen killing a demon, throught to represent the monstrsity of British rule.6. The Bhavan itself boasts of noteworthy architecture and even has a tunnel which ends outside the boundary of the then city limits.7. Members of the mandal trust as they work towards putting up the museum.