On Thursday 20 Sep 2007 10:20 am, Gautam John wrote: > I remember being told that the festival was a recent (late 1800's - > early 1900's) entrant and that it originated in a curious mix of the > Indian independence struggle, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Marathi > identity and the rise of a Hindu-right identity.
As far as I know - this refers to the very loud and PUBLIC celebration in every street corner, as opposed to the private, in house worship that has gone on for much longer. We have a family tradition (particular foods cooked) that date from before Tilak - from the time of at least my paternal great grandfather - who was born around 1850 or so. Tilak made a family affair into a public one - the repercussions o which started this thread. shiv
