Ganeshotsav 2026: How a Maratha temple in Karachi brings Hindus, Muslims and Parsis together

Nearly a thousand kilometres from Mumbai the caramellycoconutty aroma of modaks and chants of ldquoGanpati Bappa Moryardquo rise across the border too all the way in Karachi PakistanThere 28yearold Amar Parkashrsquos family is among 60odd Maratha clans that have historically lived in the port city and chose to stay back during the Partition These families still observe Maratha customs including Gudi Padwa Ganesh Chaturthi and even Ganesh JayantiAt the centre of their celebrations is the Ganesh Math Mandir a temple that was established by the Maratha community long before the Partition when they lived there in much greater numbersIt is now a living piece of history preserved by three generations of Parkashrsquos family Parkash a software engineer has gone viral on social media theamarparkash with his videos of Ganeshotsav festivitiesAmar ParkashldquoThis temple has been here since the 1940s I have heard stories about how before Partition everyone used to come together and dance in front of the temple during Ganesh Chaturthirdquo says Parkash ldquoDuring the Partition my family decided to stay back here We have kept the legacy of the temple and our culture alive for the past three generationsrdquoOnce a small openair shrine in one of Karachirsquos oldest neighbourhoods Gazdarabad Ganesh Math Mandir has been renovated by the family into a fullfledged temple that can accommodate up to 150 devotees Bapparsquos murti too has been updatedldquoBack then the murti was made of chikni mitti clay but in 2007 we commissioned a new marble murti from Punerdquo says Parkash The idol was sculpted in the likeness of Punersquos famous Dagdusheth Ganpati including the deityrsquos twicecurled trunk ldquoThis murti was carved from a single block of white marble and weighs 80 kgrdquo says ParkashGetting it to Karachi a year later was a struggle though with IndiaPakistan relations at a low following the 2611 attacks ldquoIt was held on the ship for almost two months because officials wanted to check if anything was hidden inside the idol We told them the murti was carved from one block of marble so there was no way to put anything inside or to open and check itrdquo Parkash recallsParsi and Muslim assistanceFinally an influential Parsi family came to their aid Ava Cowasjee the daughter of Ardeshir Cowasjee shipping magnate social activist and columnist in the Dawn newspaper intervened with the authorities and persuaded them to clear the idol ldquoThe Cowasjee family helped us bring the murti home Later Ardeshir Cowasjee also visited our templerdquo says ParkashNearly two decades later this year itrsquos a Muslim artisan who has offered his service to Bappa ldquoEach year we get the murti touched up before the festival because this is Bapparsquos time But marble is much harder to colour than clay Every year wersquod struggle to find someone who was up to the challenge Then my father found this Muslim artisan who was more than happy to do it His ancestors had been painting temples and murtis for generations before the Partitionrdquo says ParkashHis video about this titled ldquoKaun Hindu Kaun Muslimrdquo got 17 lakh views on Instagram This communal harmony can be seen throughout the festival at the temple where Hindus and nonHindus alike come for darshan ldquoThere is police protection outside the mandir for both Ganesh Chaturthi and Ganesh Jayanti just as a precaution But in all these years there has never been any untoward incident We celebrate Bappa while still being mindful of other communities For example during Bapparsquos agman and visarjan processions we donrsquot play the dhol during the azaan And many nonHindus come for darshan and have prasad toordquo he sharesPrasad there he tells us looks much like it does here in Mumbai modak karanji puri sheera dal bhaat papad mirchi shrikhand About 8001000 people visit each day through the seven days of festivities observed at the temple and the bhandar tent outside After that devotees take the utsav murti mdash a threefoot idol that is sourced locally in Karachi mdash to the 200yearold Shri Laxmi Narayan Mandir for visarjan at the banks of Chinna CreekParkash has grown up seeing Ganeshotsav celebrations at other Karachi temples such as the Laxmi Narayan temple and Shree Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple The dream now is to reconnect with his roots in Maharashtra ldquoMy father has been to Mumbai and Pune and seen Ganesh Chaturthi festivities there He has told me so much about it and shown me so many pictures Aamchi ichha aahe ki ek divas India madhye jaun Ganesh Chaturthi celebrate karu ani toh kasa astoy ha experience karurdquoMarathi people in PakistanMarathi peoplersquos presence in modernday Pakistan dates back to the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 when captives from the Maratha army were taken to Balochistan They eventually assimilated into the local religion and culture but have held on to some traditions The 2023 film Baloch portrays this forgotten historyHowever the Hindu Marathas in Karachi are a distinct community that settled in the port city during the British Raj when Sindh was part of the Bombay Presidency Their occupation was mostly trade and administrative jobs PostPartition most of them moved to Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra 1000Number of people who visit the temple through the festivities