India, Sept. 16 -- A traditional Ganpati aarti performed by actress Bhagyashree at the Shri Ganapati Panchayatan Sansthan in Sangli on Monday has triggered a dispute over the religious traditions followed by the institution.

Bhagyashree and her husband, Himalaya Dasani, performed the aarti of the diety on the first day of the Ganesh festival celebrations. The ritual was conducted before the arrival of Vijaysinhraje Patwardhan, father of Bhagyashree, who is associated with the erstwhile royal family and has traditionally been involved in the institution's religious rituals.

The development reportedly upset Patwardhan, who questioned why the aarti was performed in his absence and said the institution's age-old traditions should not be alt...