Devotees converge at Kheer Bhawani Mela to rekindle faith & fraternity

Devotees offering prayers during the Kheer Bhawani Mela at Tulmulla.

Hundreds of earthen lamps lit the premises of the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple, which reverberated with hyms and bhajans as devotees, mostly Kashmiri Pandits, offered milk and kheer to the deity as part of the annual fair celebrations.

Surrounded by Chinar trees, the temple houses the Hindu goddess Ragnya Devi at Tulmulla village, in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal, around 27-km away from Srinagar, and welcomes the biggest Hindu festival to be celebrated in the Kashmir Valley second only to the Amarnath yatra.

Kashmiri Pandits from across the country, particularly those who migrated to Jammu in 1990s, gathered at the temple.

“Over 30,000 devotees visited the temple this year… Around 200 buses arrived from Jammu and this time, some people also came from Delhi,” lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha, who also visited the shrine, said.

He shared that work for a Yatri Niwas with a capacity for 1,000 persons, adding, “I have been told that the Bhawan will be completed in the coming eight months.”

Last year, the officials had said that 33,000 pilgrims visited the temple.

The atmosphere was also reflective of the communal harmony owing to the presence of a number of local Muslims in and outside the Hindu shrine. J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina and CPIM leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami hugged each other as they suddenly bumped into each other amid the rush while visiting the temple.

Ashok Kumar, who currently lives in Srinagar, said they wait year-long for the fair. “Many people from across the world come here. Those who want to see the Kashmiri brotherhood should participate in this fair. You won’t be able to distinguish between a Hindu and a Muslim here today,” he added.

He said they must acknowledge the support from locals, adding, “After 2019 [the abrogation of Article 370], we were expecting a certain situation here, but the people have shown the same harmony and brotherhood.”

Local Kashmiri Muslims took care of the Kheer Bhawani shrine after the exodus of a majority of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the first wave of militancy in early 1990s. The temple has attracted more devotees since 2008, as the militancy waned. Muslims make arrangements like installing stalls of flowers, milk and other Puja items to facilitate the visiting pilgrims.

Ashwani, a social worker and pilgrim, said that he was 10 years old when they left the Valley. “My aunt used to live here and I would visit often. Today, I feel the same joy, seeing how our Muslim brothers join us in the celebrations, providing flowers, milk and other offerings.”

The festival comes just a week after a bus carrying pilgrims to Shiv Khori in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi came under a terrorist attack, which claimed nine lives and left several others injured.

The administration has made strict security arrangements, as well as other necessary arrangements for the devotees in Tulmulla.

Some pilgrims said that they were apprehensive but nevertheless decided to come. “There is fear but the things appear good here. All the arrangements are fine,” said a young woman from Jammu who had last visited in 2015.

A middle-aged woman Sunita Koul, who had come from Jammu, yearned for the good old days. “We feel so overwhelmed remembering the old days. Childhood was the best here. The best thing was to be living here. But being here today is also a blessing. We pray for those old days, that we return to our home,” Koul said.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah visited the temple. “The best thing is that our brothers and sisters have come here. We want them to return home. We hope that the day comes soon when they start living with us in peace. The brotherhood between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs is important and it will start from here and spread across the country,” the former chief minister said.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina was overwhelmed with the Kashmiri parampara of brotherhood, saying, “From across the world, Pandits have come here and Muslim brothers and sisters from across the J&K are welcoming us. It is a matter of great joy. This has been our Kashmir’s parampara.. .this is our identity.”

Iltja Mufti, the daughter of another former CM, Mehbooba Mufti, also visited the temple. “I wanted to wish our Pandit brothers and sisters personally. I have come here with a message of love and humanity,” she said.

Mirwaiz exhorts KPs to return

Srinagar Chief priest and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, meanwhile, on Friday urged migrant Kashmiri Pandits to return.

While addressing the congregation at Jama Masjid in Srinagar, Mirwaiz said it was time for reconciliation.

“Today is Mela Kheer Bhawani and I would like to felicitate our Kashmiri Pandit community on this occasion. I would also once again ask them to return to their motherland which awaits them, and live here as they did in the past , in our common and shared heritage. It’s time to reconcile and rebuild the broken bonds . We owe it to our next generation,” he said.

“I also repeat the appeal to those in power that the issue and sentiments of people of JK should be addressed through deliberation,” he added.

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