Pune Ganeshotsav 2026: Ganpati Mandal Urges Devotees to Offer School Supplies Instead of Flowers
Reported by Shoaib Tadvi and Priyanshu Banerjee
Kasba Peth, 18th September 2026: In an initiative aimed at giving a social purpose to Ganeshotsav offerings, Navgraha Mitra Mandal in Kasba Peth has once again appealed to devotees to offer notebooks, pens and other educational supplies to Lord Ganesha instead of traditional offerings such as flowers and sweets.
The 77-year-old mandal has been running its stationery donation initiative for the past eight years, using contributions collected during Ganeshotsav to support students from rural and underserved schools.
The initiative was started with the objective of reconnecting Ganeshotsav with its community-oriented roots. Mandal member Aniket Mundada said the organisers wanted to find a way to make devotees’ contributions more meaningful while reducing the waste generated from conventional offerings.
“Over the last 10-15 years, Ganeshotsav has increasingly become an event rather than a festival. We wanted to think about how we could bring back its original spirit,” Mundada said.
Kasba Peth attracts a large number of devotees during Ganeshotsav, with nearly 20 lakh people visiting the area during the festival. According to the mandal, many devotees traditionally contribute small amounts of money or bring flowers and sweets as offerings.
However, flowers and other perishable offerings eventually become nirmalya. The mandal therefore decided to encourage devotees to redirect their contributions towards stationery that can directly benefit children.
“People donate Rs 20-50 with a lot of belief, but the offerings of flowers and sweets eventually become nirmalya. We thought, why not ask people to donate notebooks and pens instead?” Mundada said.
The initiative has so far provided educational materials to more than 5,500 students from rural and underserved communities.
Around 1,200 students benefited from the initiative last year, while the mandal has set a target of reaching approximately 2,000 additional students this year.
Schools in Bhor, Junnar and Chandrapur, among other areas, are being considered for this year’s distribution. The collected notebooks, pens and other educational supplies will be distributed to students through the selected schools.
The mandal has also taken the initiative online to reach a wider audience and encourage people to participate even if they cannot visit Kasba Peth personally.
An online campaign launched on Ganesh Chaturthi reportedly received around 2.67 million views and generated approximately 1,000 notebooks within two days, according to Mundada.
The organisers believe that social media has helped take the message beyond the immediate community and encouraged more people to contribute towards the educational initiative.
Across Pune, Ganeshotsav has increasingly become a platform for community-led initiatives, with mandals taking up activities related to education, healthcare, food distribution and social welfare.
Navgraha Mitra Mandal’s stationery collection is another example of how traditional festival participation can be connected with a longer-term social cause.
Instead of flowers or sweets that have a short lifespan, the mandal is encouraging devotees to make an offering that can remain useful to a student throughout the academic year.
View this post on Instagram
For the organisers, the initiative is not about changing the spirit of devotion, but about giving devotees another way to express it by helping children access basic educational resources.
Navgraha Mitra Mandal, Kasba Peth, Pune, is continuing its appeal this Ganeshotsav: offer Bappa a notebook or pen, and let the offering become a step towards someone’s education.
