Propagating communal harmony through festival

solapur: with its all-faith character and a more secular way of celebrating the ganesh festival, the tilak mitra mandal has earned the distinction of being the only of its kind in the city. founded by a muslim, naseema pathan, 18 years ago, this mandal has members from muslim, christian, hindu and other communities. pathan is a teacher from the walchand b.ed college here.her mandal today stands tall in the asaranagar area propagating secularism and communal harmony. people belonging to various communities are office-bearers of the mandal. they are: police inspector arjunrao kale, yelis machale, ayub lightwala, salahuddin, rajendra vaidya and adil shaikh. during the festival, the daily 'pooja' is performed by people representing the lower economic groups, such as sweepers or maid servants. the mandal meets its expenses with funds contributed by the residents of the gaibipir area.the truly all-faith character of the mandal is evident in its choice of decorations, cultural programmes and even processions. taking note of the communal harmony brought about by the tilak mitra mandal, the solapur municipal corporation has even named a chowk in the gaibipir area as 'samabhav chowk'.