The festival organisers have done away with the colourful shobha yatra that was the feature of the festival all these nine years. Getting hi-tech, they have roped in the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), which has explored the vivid symbolism of Ganesh as the God of Knowledge in the Dnyaneshwari and prepared the first volume of the Dynaneshwari CD-ROM which will be projected on screen during the inaugural ceremony.

Speaking with media persons, Suresh Kalmadi, MP and chairman of the festival, said the festival was organised by the Union department of tourism, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and the Pune Festival committee. This year's budget is Rs 60 lakh. Kalmadistressed that around a dozen sponsors have already come forward. The coinciding festivals at Pimpri-Chinchwad and Phaltan will not dampen the fervour associated with the Pune Festival, he said.

Stating that the festival will provide an occasion for the innovative launch of `Operation Knowledge' in India, Dr Vijay Bhatkar, (who is on an 18-month leave from C-DAC) said an appeal will be made to Ganesh mandals to install a multimedia PC at the feet of the idol and demonstrate its capabilities to the masses -- particularly those who are not familiar with computers. Medium and large-sized Ganesh mandals will be requested to raise donations and gift at least one computer to a school of its choice.

With Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde slated to inaugurate the event, the festival will offer a plethora of programmes and a host of stars including artistes Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, popular singer Lucky Ali, danseuse Shovana Narayan and Pratibha Prahlad. The inaugural programmes will have reputed dancersof Pune presenting Pancharati. Noted dancers Sucheta Chapekar, Shama Bhate, Maneesha Sathe, Nandkishore Kapote and others will come together to present a composition with music score by internationally acclaimed sitar maestro, Ustad Shahid Parvez.

The festival will include programmes like Hasya Kavi Sammelan, Lavni, trekking, bullock-cart races, golf, cycle, motor-cycle rallies, body building contest, yoga demonstration, Indradhanu, Saptarang, food festivals and flower shows. Abhiyan projects will design and host the Pune Festival '98 website which will provide daily update on the event. The URL of the website is http://www.abwebplus.com/punefestival/