During early 1970s, there were only a few Marathi families in Detroit area. Prominent amongst them were Dr. Raj Patil, Dr. Vishwanath Sardesai, Mr. Bapu Gokhle and many more. Dr. Raj Patil used to host the celebrity artists like Mr. Sudhir Phadake, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jitendra Abhishekhi and others. Mr. Bapu Gokhle used to say his connection with India is through music only! He used to hold a picnic in Metro Parks every year and the notification used to come through a newsletter named “Dawandi”. Mr. Sudhir Phadake was present at one of the picnics, and he was gracious to entertain us with a few of his songs! That was a special treat.
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During spring of 1977 Mr. Shrikant Moghe and Mrs. Daya Dongre were visiting USA and performing a play “Lekure Udand Jahali”. Since there was no Marathi Mandal in our city, all 25 families decided to invite the artists and sponsor the event through monetary contribution in case we do not get enough response. The play was a grand success with almost 150 natya rasiks in attendance. Following the successful event, most of us felt that we need Marathi Mandal organization to promote social and cultural events in Detroit area. After a few meetings with the group of Marathi families, Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit was established in summer of 1977. The constitution and by-laws were one page long. Mr. Ashok Deshpande was the first president of MMD.
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We used to organize major events like Padwa, Shree Ganesh Pooja, Diwali etc. Dr. Shankarrao Huprikar from Chicago used to bring Marathi plays. Locally, Dr. Suresh Gadgil and Subhash Kelkar directed several Marathi plays and staged in school auditoriums. There were always old and new actors along with regular stream of back-stage volunteers! Besides nataks, we had some Marathi music programs by Mrs. Aarati Ankalikar, Mrs. Prabha Atre, Mrs. Anuradha Marathe Mr. Shrikant Pargaonkar, and Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande etc. As Marathi population grew and interest in MMD activities increased. Children’s social and cultural activities added attraction. With local music and dance tuitions and a variety of choreographers, children’s programs provided full entertainment program for the Ganeshotsav celebrations!
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| In 1989, Detroit hosted the fourth BMM convention at Athens High school in Troy under the leadership of Dr. Suresh Bilolikar. About 2500 Marathi rasiks from all over USA attended the convention. Mr. V. P. Kale was a featured speaker who entertained the audience with “Katha Kathan”. The convention was a huge success and saved a lot of money for MMD. |
Almost a year after MMD was established, a hand written Marathi newsletter started. The MMD newsletter used to be hand written until 1990. Every year a new editor used to take care of putting six issues together. .In 1991, the committee started printing newsletter “Snehabandha” using Marathi fonts .That was a land mark in MMD‘s history. In 1996 a giant step was taken by registering MMD as a non-profit organization (501-c3) with the Internal Revenue Services. With this status and tax advantages, we could increase revenue and hold functions in bigger halls and especially at the Bharatiya Temple in Troy.
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MMD celebrated its 25 th year in 2001. A silver jubilee celebration was held by Mrs. Hema Rachmale and her team. Most of the past presidents were in attendance and their contributions were recognized. Around the same time MMD got its web site with “Mahamandal of Detroit” as domain. Subsequently web site has been improved and has made great strides in serving the community through providing access to information about the upcoming events, old and new newsletters. It also allows members to RSVP on line. All the members are now used to regular e-mail notifications from MMD.
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In 2003 Suyog team stopped by Detroit on their way to Toronto and perform their play. Mr. Prashant Damle, Mrs. Reema Lagoo, Mrs. Vandana Gupte and others staged “Priyatama” natak on a week-day at the Bharatiya Temple. There were about 300 Marathi prekshaks. Mr. Sudhir Bhat was overwhelmed with the response and promised to return to Detroit the following year. This brought Detroit on a national map of visiting artists and plays from India. In June 2004, two Marathi plays were staged in Walled Lake Central High School. Dr. Shriram Lagoo and Fayyaz starred in “Mitra”. The second play was “Nakalat Sare Ghadale” with Mr. Vikram Gokhale. In 2005 MMD organized “Ruchirang” at the Ford Auditorium with indulgence in Marathi tradition by offering two Suyog plays along with full Marathi lunch with Malvani, Mumbaikar, Kolhapuri and Puneri meals. That was a grand success with almost 600 people in attendance!
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There has been tremendous response from the community for so many activities over last three decades. During these years a large number of volunteers worked tirelessly to make each and every program a great success. I would like to thank all those committee members and volunteers who served the community and “My Marathi” Hats off to them all for the noble cause!
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| The community is growing in numbers in and around Detroit metro area. MMD is continuously improving variety and quality of its activities to reach more people. Still sometimes the community’s response is not enthusiastic due to factors possibly such as the economic situation, growth of the metro area, or changes in tastes. It is our own Mandal. Let us all put our heart and soul into its activities so that MMD can help organize major social-cultural programs and host artists of national repute. |
