Bhau Rangari Ganapati
Bhau Rangari started the first celebration of Ganeshotsav (community/public Ganapati Festival) in Pune in 1892. Bhau Rangari, who was an Ayurvedic medical practitioner, kept his Ganesh idol open to the public because religious gatherings allowed for public exchange of ideas and information.
He was so acclaimed that Ayurvedic doctors from various states used to come and visit him.
“The Wada is specially known for the origin of the Ganesh festival. It is claimed that various saints used to visit the Wada in past to have a spiritual conversation,” says historian Mohan Shete. Since Javale’s traditional family business was to dye sarees, he would pursue his traditional calling along with his medical profession. It led to him being called by the name of Bhau Rangari.
The venue hosted the first Ganpati festival
The Ganesh festival was also started publicly by Javale, hence the Ganpati festival celebrations here are called as Bhau Rangari Ganpati. The Wada was also used by freedom fighters to hide while they were underground.
The structure was made accordingly and various paths and rooms were built underground. Over the passage of time, the paths and the rooms vanished. The Wada was also the site where plans for the freedom movement were conceptualised by leaders such as Lokmanya Tilak, Balwant Ramchandra Natu and Narsinha Chintamani Kelkar.