A few days when the campus changes, batches come together, and the celebration becomes something we build ourselves.
The decorated pandal becomes the heart of the college during the festival
Every year, our college turns into a whole different place for a few days when Ganesh Chaturthi comes around. As cadets, this is one festival we all wait for, and honestly, it’s one of the few times you see second years, third years and fourth years all working together like one team, no batch lines, just everyone pitching in to make it happen.
First years, being new to the college, mostly come in as guests for this one; they join us for the pooja and the aarti and get their share of prasad, but the running around and the actual work are on the rest of us.
Everyone Comes Together
The festival setup seen from above.
What makes our Ganesh Chaturthi different is that it’s completely run by us, the cadets. Nobody hands us a checklist; we figure it out ourselves. From the planning to the execution to the final visarjan, it’s mainly the second, third and fourth year coming together to pull it off.
The seniors guide, the middle years run around doing the legwork, and somewhere in between everyone still ends up bonding over it.
FROM CHANDA TO THE PANDAL
The Work Behind the Celebration
Before anything else, we start with collecting chanda from all four years and from our faculty too, who contribute as a donation towards the celebration. Everyone chips in whatever they can, and that’s what funds the whole thing, the pandal, decorations, prasad, everything down to the DJ on the last night.
Going around collecting chanda is honestly a task in itself, with cadets coordinating, keeping track of who’s given what, and planning out the budget. It’s a lot of running around, but it’s also where a lot of the fun starts.
The finished pandal and illuminated approach
Building the Pandal
Once we have the funds sorted, the real work begins, setting up the Ganesh pandal near the fourth-year east wing. That spot basically becomes the heart of the college for those few days. We decorate it properly and get a beautiful Ganeshji idol placed right in the centre. Chairs are arranged for everyone who comes for the aarti, and tents are put up around the pandal so the whole setup is covered, whether it’s the sun beating down or a sudden shower, and also so it can hold the crowd of cadets who show up every single day.
THE DAILY RHYTHM
Morning and Evening Aarti and Prasad
For the three to four days that the festival runs, there’s a proper routine we follow. Morning aarti, evening aarti, both done with full involvement from the cadets, first years included, they join in for the pooja and aarti just like the rest of us.
After the aarti, prasad is distributed to everyone there. It becomes a bit of a ritual in itself, cadets making it a point to show up morning and evening, not wanting to miss it.
THE LAST DAY
Visarjan and DJ Night
The last day is on a completely different level. As we get ready for visarjan, the whole vibe of the college shifts from quiet devotion to pure celebration. There’s a DJ night, and cadets from every year just let loose and dance together before sending off Bappa.
“Ganpati Bappa Morya” echoes across the whole campus as the procession heads out for immersion. It’s loud, it’s emotional, and honestly it’s one of the best nights of the year.
WHY IT MATTERS
More Than Just a Festival
At the end of the day, Ganesh Chaturthi here isn’t just about the puja, it’s about all of us coming together, working, dancing, and celebrating as one. Second, third and fourth years handle the work, and the first years, still new to it all, get to enjoy it as their first taste of how things are done here.
For a lot of the first years, this is actually the very first time they’re attending a festival like this at the college, and you can see it on their faces, that mix of excitement and wonder as they take in the pandal, the aarti, the crowd, and the energy of the whole celebration for the first time.
From chanda collection to building the pandal to that final night on the dance floor, it’s something we build ourselves, year after year, and that’s what makes it feel like ours.
