Established: 1893

One of Pune's oldest Ganeshotsavs, the Dagdu Seth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganapati Trust has a long history.

Dagdu Seth, a sweetmeat seller who was a friend of Lokmanya Tilak, saw the Ganesh festival in Andhra Pradesh and he thought of starting it in Pune. He had lost his son in an accident and his guru advised him to establish two temples. 'The way your son would carry your name forward, the temples will do that,' the guru told him.

The Ganesh idol that graces the festival now was created in 1967. It has about 60 kg of gold, donated by devotees.

The Trust takes up other social welfare programmes, like taking care of prostitutes' children. Recently, it donated Rs 51 lakh to the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund for flood-affected areas in the state.

Every year, a 10-day musical programme marks the Ganeshtotsav here, which is free for the public. Then there is a month-long discourse by Baba Maharaj Satarkar.