Come the month of Shravan (July-August) millions of Hindus across the country, carrying buckets of “Ganga Jal” on their shoulders, start walking miles to several shrines of Lord Shiva. Popularly known as the Kanwar Yatra, the barefooted pilgrims (kanwarias), clad in saffron clothes, visit temples of Lord Shiva to bathe the “lingams”. The craze for this yatra can be understood from the fact that extra traffic police have been deployed on NH-24 to ensure that the traffic movement remain smooth between Ghaziabad and New Delhi. Apart from ensuring medical assistance, proper drinking water facilities, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has order to tighten the security of the yatra, especially after an intel report mentioned a probability of an attack on the pilgrims.
For the pilgrims during this period, there are few Shiva temples that hold special importance where they flock in millions to offer their prayers and show their devotion.The sights in the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple simply turns amazing as millions of
With every passing year, the count of the devotees are increasing in leaps and bounces but the fact of the matter is that even in the early half of the 1980s, this yatra comprised of a handful of sadhus and a few aged devotees. But looking at today’s scenario, even children as young as 9 year old take part in this holy yatra. Speaking to MSMN, Ayush Khattri’s father Vivek jokingly said, “My son studies in the 4th standard. His school bag is not as heavy as the buckets (of water) that he will be lifting on his shoulders.”
The Khattri family, Vivek said visits the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi every year during this time of the year. “For us, the yatra is a source of getting rid of our sins. It gives us the strength and courage to face every odd with bravery”, said Vivek.
Apart from Varanasi, the Babadham in Jharkhand is also famous for the footfalls of the Kanwarias. Around 55 lakh pilgrims come here chanting “Bam Bhole” during these were months.
In Uttarakhand, devotees fill their buckets with the water of the Ganges from Haridwar and head towards the Neelkanth Temple.
In Bengal, the Tarkeshwar shrine too attracts massive number of devotees.
