Pune: Chants of "Ganapati Bapaa Morya" reverberated through a hostel in war-torn Ukraine , where the wail of air raid sirens has become a constant, filling a motley group of Indian students with joi de vivre. These students, who all study medicine, celebrated the Ganapati festival for all the 10 days with piety and enthusiasm. They formed a Ganesh mandal, named after their hostel – Svitanok – in Uzhhorod , a city located in the western part of the country, and installed an idol of Lord Ganesha at the hostel's reception.
The idol was immersed on Tuesday following all the traditions. The preparation began a month ahead of the festival, with students putting in long hours to create a small replica of Pune's iconic Shaniwarwada . Tejas Kiran Dhanashetty, who hails from Pune's Talegaon Dabhade, was the main driving force behind the initiative.
The fourth year MBBS student had grown up watching grand celebrations of the festival in Pune and was missing the same during his stay in Ukraine. "Initially, I decided to install the idol in my hostel room, but my friends insisted that we should make it a big celebration. So, we decided to install the idol at the hostel's reception.
There was huge response from everyone, including Ukrainian nationals who came with their families to take Bappa's blessings and attended the morning and evening aartis daily," Tejas said. Though the situation in Uzhhorod is better than in other parts of Ukraine, citizens still run for the nearest bunker when.