Mumbai : Waari (pilgrimage) to the holy city of Pandharpur in Maharashtra , which is one of the most coveted traditions in India, has concluded on Monday . The waari which goes on for 19 days every year is a walkathon from various parts of the state to Pandharpur to the shrine of Vitthal-Rukmini. The tradition has been preserved by the pilgrims called Waarkaris for hundreds of years now.
The Waarkaris carry palkhis (palanquin) of various saints to the holy city from different quarters of the state in this journey which lasts for around 20 days. Palkhis of Saint Jnaneshwar and Saint Tukaram meet in Pune and travel together further to Pandharpur. Each Palkhi contains a set of silver images of the padukas (sandals) of the saint.
As per the tradition, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fandnavis performed the first pooja at the shrine early in the morning. Every year, one waarkari couple gets the honour of participating in the first pooja along with the CM and his wife. Dhande and his wife belonging to the Hingoli district in Maharashtra, participated in the waari pooja on Monday. Fadnavis said he prayed for the well-being of the farmers and wished for better rains.
Local administration claims it is trying to maintain cleanliness in the city during this period to do its bit in the Swachch Bharat campaign, but pilgrims complained that the Pandharpur municipal corporation is releasing the city's drainage water into the Chandrabhaga River where the pilgrims take a holy dip.
The Maharashtra cultural ministry also announced Dnyanoba-Tukaram awards for remarkable work in saintood literature to two litterateurs on this occasion. Father Francis D'britto received the honour for 2014 while Maruti Maharaj Kurhekar for year 2015.
The palkhis of saint Jnaneshwar and Tukaram will very soon start their return journey to Alandi and Dehu respectively and the waarkaris will return home preserving the experience till next year's waari calls them back to Pandharpur.
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