By Brij Khandelwal, IANS,
Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh) : If one climbs the ridge overlooking this erstwhile capital of Mughal emperor Akbar and looks beyond, the sea of humanity around appears like a long march of the Red Army, a red-flagged rally without an end or a beginning.
Hundreds of devotees of Goddess Kaila Devi have begun their annual trek to the shrine of the deity, the Ma Raj Rajeshwari Kaila Devi temple, set amid the Aravalli hills in southeast Rajasthan’s Karauli district, 250 km west of Agra.
Hordes of pilgrims from all over Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and the Braj region districts of Agra, Aligarh, Firozabad and Mathura are travelling to the shrine, which draws one of the biggest crowds of faithfuls in this part of India.
Men, women and children, decked in red and white scarves and dhotis and carrying loads of their basic necessities over their heads, walk singing hymns and folk songs in praise of Karauli Mata. Many pilgrims offer ‘dandauti parikrama’, rolling over the ground to cover the distance.
The fair in honour of Kaila Devi started March 16. The pilgrims will continue to reach Karauli till Friday, the day the Navratras of the Hindu month of Chaitra start. The celebrations in the temple shrine will continue till the first week of April, according to an official of the trust that runs the shrine affairs.
“It’s a flood of humanity on the Agra-Jaipur highway. Some take three days, others a week, while most take motor vehicles to reach Karauli for a ‘darshan’ during the Navratras,” says Mahesh Shukla, a devout.
The Rajasthan government has arranged for elaborate security and medical and postal services for the pilgrims. Both the Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan state roadways corporations have deployed additional buses to ferry pilgrims to Karauli and back.
All along the route, various social organisations and clubs have put up makeshift shelters, water huts and opened “langars” for free distribution of “puris”, “subji” and “halwa”. Lines of shops have come up to sell chunaris, coconuts and other puja material. The loudspeakers add to the religious cacophony, blaring devotional songs round the clock.
Hanumant Singh, manager of the Kaila Devi Temple Trust, said: “Preparations are in full swing. Lighting, water, cleanliness are top priorities. The area has more than 300 ‘dharamshalas’ (lodges) and makeshift arrangements for staying.
“Most temples in the city devoted to the mother goddess have been given a festive look with flags and red buntings. This is also the time for celebrations in the rural hinterland, with wrestling matches, fairs and get-togethers, in anticipation of a bumper crop. Groups from various neighbourhoods of Agra began their march to the shrine on Sheetla Ashtmi last week.”
The scene is not very different from the colourful chaos of the mega religious gathering of the Kumbh Mela.
Tourist guide Ved Gautam said: “It is one endless stream of devouts on the Agra-Jaipur highway, so unique and colourful. It is indeed a celebration of faith, one that moves old people, youngsters and adults to trek the distance in this heat.”
(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at [email protected])