Dhol tasha has become synonymous with Ganeshotsav, and Pune is a hotspot with more than 200 dhol tasha pathaks (groups) in the city. Most of these pathaks practice by the riverside, and the recent rains in the city have severely affected their practice. The swollen rivers have led to financial losses as much of their equipment got washed away in the floods.
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Vinod Adhav has led Trimbekeshwar Pratisthan for over 19 years. His pathak is reportedly the only one in Maharashtra that possesses organic dhols made of wood and not metal. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, he said, "Ganpati is more than a festival, it is an emotion for us. The dhol tasha has significance and is a symbol of our great tradition, culture, and devotion. I was in tears seeing my dhols getting washed away in the floods. We tried to save as many dhols as we could, but still, 15 of them drifted into the floods. We have incurred a loss of more than ₹1.85 lakh as all our dhols are made of pure wood and they are costly compared to normal metal drums."
"We started our practice on July 21 at Panchaleshwar Mandir near the Deccan riverside. Every year, we put up a tin shed and keep our dhol-tasha there. Because we have been doing this for a long period, we have an estimate of water levels, but this year more water was released from the dams into the river, and no prior intimation was given, so we have to bear the brunt of financial losses. It will take another five years to get more drums for my team."
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Abhishek Gaikar of Dharmayodhya Vaadh Pathak said, "Due to the heavy rains and floods in the city, practice has been stalled. We usually start our practice around this time, but this year the situation is not favourable, so we will start our practice after August 5. I know a lot of the pathaks incurred monetary losses as their mandaps were destroyed. They also faced problems while shifting their dhols and other percussion instruments to other locations. We don't have a place to practice, so mostly we do it near the riverside. If we look for a safe place, the rents are too high."
Anish Padekar, President of Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust, said, "This year around 21 pathaks of dhol-tasha practising near the riverside are impacted due to floods. Around 70-80 per cent of their mandaps got washed away along with the drums in the floods. On average, around ₹40-42 lakh of monetary loss has been incurred by these pathaks. Around 2,000-2,200 drums drifted away in floodwater, and the mandaps and the tin sheds were also swept away in the heavy rains. We met Minister Chandrakant Patil, and he has given assurance that some help will be given to the pathaks. Ganpati mandals and people from the different pathaks also came forward to help."
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