Mangala Gauriche khel are played as part of a Maharashtrian Brahmin tradition for the newlyweds. These games are becoming very popular due to availability of various groups in various cities of the state.

 These groups are available at various cost based on the credibility and content of the program. I met many groups and they have wiped out all my biases. Out of the many such groups, one of the recent ones is “Indrani”. The composition of the group is interesting as it consists of women from various age groups, some are home-makers and some working women lead by “Sucheta Adkar”.

Sucheta is an engineer by degree and an Entrepreneur by profession. She runs a media and events company with her spouse. Extremely stylish and honest, she is a  graduate in kathak dance too.

How come an Engineer became such an active member of “Indrani” or rather how did she join Indrani was my question to her after the introduction session?
“As a Child, I was born and brought up in Chinchwad. We use to have lot of festivals celebrated in the morya mandir. Lot of Mangala gauri khel use to be played and lot of Jagrans also used to happen unlike the programs that happen today. I use to go to these Jagrans and enjoyed the food served. In that process I learnt few. After my marriage, I joint few classes and learnt them to gain more experience” says Sucheta.

They are 12 members group only, and have been running the same for 7-8 years now. Not everybody in the group is a home maker, In fact it is my pleasure to introduce you to her group members briefly. I am extremely proud of the fact, that the members in the group have their own responsibilities at home, and work front yet they dedicated so much of their time to retain our culture.

Indrani has performed around 450 programs in various cities of Maharashtra and they have performed in Goa too. They have performed in non-Maharashtrian functions as well.

How about the presentation part for the group?

“At Indrani, we all are well to do, and being part of this group is passion for us. We put all our efforts in making our presentation glamourous retaining the authencity of the games. Everybody is enthusiast and has multiple costumes with Jewellery” adds Sucheta.

About the program design and content, they modified it based on the function in which they perform.
Infact she told me that they could combine “Yoga” with the mangala Gauriche khel for one of their celebrations on the “International Yoga day’. The concept was very well appreciated

As few of the members are dancers, they also had performed in a program showcasing various dance forms of Maharashtra called “Gandha Maticha” .

“We are very happy, and fortunate to be doing this for the community as it is taking something from the older generations and passing it to the newer one” says Sucheta

Festivals and more wishes all the best to all these gorgeous ladies and May God bless them.
Incase you want to get intouch with Sucheta’s group please write to me at  sdimber@gmail.com.  Also, If you know of any group who has been performing “mangala Gauriche khel” and would like to appreciate them, then please ping me.

Snippet of Interview :

With an excellent response for my earlier blog on “mangala Gauriche khel“,  I was inspired to write more about those working in that area.

Couple of my next blogs will see exclusive interviews with those who have worked relentlessly and taken our culture to a level which they themselves never thought of.

Today, I got an opportunity to meet someone who inspired me in her own way. She is the one who started the group called “Swanandi” who performs mangala gauriche khel and has been managing the same for 25+ years.

Kanchan(Mausami) Mule is 64 years now, and when I saw her I  was amazed.

Kanchan Kaku as I call her fondly, is born and brought up in Pune. She completed her schooling from “Gopal high school” and graduation in B.A(Marathi) from Sir Purshottam College (SP college).

She inherited music from her father “Bal Mate” and was very active in sports since her childhood. “I just can’t sit at one place and need to do  something or other” says Kanchan Kaku while serving me the tea.

When I asked her “where did you learn Mangala Gauriche Khel from”? She smiled and said that she used to participate  in every Mangala Gaur program that used to happen in neighborhood and simply absorb by observing. There is no Guru as such or one person to whom she can give the credit to.

In today’s date Swanandi has already performed 661 programs at various occasions like Dohale Jevan, Mehendi, Barsa and other political gatherings including the Shravani Tuesdays and hopes to complete 700 shows in this season.

They have traveled all cities in Maharashtra and have also showcased their talent in Goa and Rajasthan. “If the host is willing to pay for our Travel and accommodation” we can travel anywhere.

Swanandi does not like time limits imposed on them while performing, as that is unfair to every person in the group. They have a pre-decided sequence and any change in time allotment disturbs their entire performance. However, performing for so many years have helped them learn the way to overcome any challenges they come across.

Having performed with Smita Talwalkar and Madhu Kambikarji, Kanchan Kaku feels herself as fortunate and blessed.

She has about 40 ladies of different age group, financial background, and profession performing with her. She has shared her skill with almost 2000+ ladies so far and is well connected with most of them.

Some of them join for fun, some with the thought to retain our culture and some for source of income is what she mentioned. They practice throughout the year and now each person in the group is a pro.

“We don’t perform for money, but we do need it to manage our costumes and other logistics though. Swanandi has got immense respect, love and success which is more important than the remuneration paid to us” says she.

She writes her own scripts for compering, designs the games per program requirement and sometimes on the spot, choreograph the sequence and make sure program is catchy. She does this while managing her own household and understanding every team members problems/aspirations.

While we were talking, I looked around and found her beautiful picture in Navari saree and was amazed as she had done modelling for “Swamini-shop”.

I asked her if I could get a softcopy. She did not have one as it was taken sometime back when digital world did not exist. I used my phone and created a soft copy. I could see her blushing when I told her that I will whatsapp her the image

It is so difficult to find out such dynamos who believe in growing and doing something for our culture. Who have the vision to take it to every door if they could and we at festivals and more salute such power houses…

Kanchan Kaku may “Swanandi” achieve all the heights it can!!!

 
Snippet of the Interview:

Also, it can be found at