Nagpur's 145-year-old Marbat-Badgya festival roars on, this time without DJ music

Nagpur's streets on Friday saw the same scene that has defined the old city for the past 145 years. The Marbat and Badgya festival brought life to the old city's neighbourhoods from morning, with processions taking to the streets as evening approached. The biggest draw, as every year, was the meeting of the black and yellow Marbat effigies.

Badgya-makers once again took sharp aim at current affairs. Effigies were built around themes including Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, rising prices, and the "Cockroach Janata Party". As happens every year, the festival took hard swipes at social ills, inflation, crime and politics.

In Bhaldarpura, the Avighna Badgya Utsav Mandal, led by president Somu Birah, built a Badgya highlighting the safety of Nagpur Municipal Corporation's women sanitation workers, which was also well received. In Maskasath, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Park Badgya Utsav Committee drew loud applause for its effigy targeting Asim Munir, with slogans such as "Field Marshal, failed marvel, Balochistan in a shambles" ringing out.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's Badgya Utsav Samiti, led by president Sachin Thape, commented on the political situation with slogans including "Remove the Cockroach Janata Party, Badgya" and "Remove those who insulted Savji, Badgya". In Panchkuwa, the Sangram Badgya Utsav Mandal and the Yuva Shakti Badgya Utsav Samiti vented their anger over rising prices. The Yuva Shakti Badgya Utsav Samiti, led by Vijay Parate, has been bringing out a Badgya continuously for the past forty years. Children from Balabhau Peth also made their own children's Badgya, which was taken around neighbourhoods in North Nagpur without joining the main procession.

In Bhaldarpura, the Ekta Marbat Utsav Mandal, led by president Vijay Matelkar, also took out a special White March. The march was against the March 2025 incident in Meerut in which a wife, with her lover's help, brutally killed her merchant navy husband and hid the body parts in a cement drum.

Security arrangements were also thorough this year. On the directions of Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, around four thousand police personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Orders were given to take anyone causing a drunken disturbance directly into police custody. Three additional police commissioners, seven deputy commissioners, 14 assistant commissioners, 55 inspectors, 350 assistant inspectors, a State Reserve Police Force unit and around a thousand home guards were on duty. Traffic on the procession route was diverted.

Under a rule set by Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, loud DJ sound systems were not used at this year's Marbat festival, but the crowd's enthusiasm was undiminished. Notably, Nagpur Municipal Corporation this year also arranged for foreign visitors to view the festival, and several foreign guests watched the unique procession first-hand.