No, this is not an idyllic vignette from the long-gone past. The SJVM might seem to be caught in a time-warp, but it's also the only institution to be celebrating Ganeshotsava the way Bal Gangadhar Tilak envisaged it 106 years after it became sarvajanik.

Founded by a Muslim fakir, Jumma Dada, and kept alive by his favourite disciple Manikrao after the former's death in 1904, the Ganeshotsava eschews loudspeakers, garish decorations and all traces of vulgar commercialisation. Simplicity is the hallmark here, notwithstanding the unlikely location just off the Dandia Bazaar Road, where a dozen big idols jostle for physical and aural space.

Ganeshotsava celebrations used to go on for 21 days here, before being curtailed to 10 days, and are marked by lectures and talks. Even the installation and immersion ceremonies are simple affairs. Manekrao Akhada, as the institution is known to most, was a hiding place for revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. Scores of young people used to attend the fiery speeches made on this ground. ``It used to overflow with people'', remembers octagenarian Prabhakar Telang.

That is a rare sight now -- few youngsters patronise the akhada -- but a bunch of senior citizens are determined to keep the institution alive.

``No speaker charges us anything. They take pride in the fact that they are speaking from the platform used by giants like Tilak, Savarkar, Chaphekar'', says Shyam Kulkarni, the moving spirit behind the last few celebrations.

But managing trustee Shanta Dighe admits, ``It's difficult for us. Few are interested in such lectures. But our roots are very deep, we have a committed audience.''

Kulkarni says they try to give different sections -- teachers, doctors, women -- a platform to air their views. ``We receive a small, quality auidence'', he says. Himself a writer, Kulkarni's letters to speakers are themselves a literary exercise.

The small crowd appreciated Post Master-General Vijay Chitale's talk on music, words and notes. Quoting extensively from Wordsworth, Shakespeare and Marathi writers and lyricists, Chitale -- a singer of repute -- regaled the audience for more than an hour.