one woman in each group of pilgrims carries a tulsi plant to be offered to Lord Vittal at the end of the pilgrimage
Vaari:
Vaari is an annual 15 day pilgrimage taken by several lakhs of Gyaneshwar devotees. It passed through Pune this week and little did we know the roads completely close down. How did we find out? Got caught in it! Four friends and I walked for three kilometers with the pilgrims. Not a willing auto in sight. It was definitely an interesting and fun way to learn about the pilgrimage. Besides, walking three kilometers in search of auto is much more exciting when you are surrounded by hundreds of people singing and dancing.
Many families in Maharashtra open up their homes to pilgrims for a couple hours and provide chai/lunch/dinner. On Thursday, I went to a friend’s house to assist with/observe with the service. Here I got to pilgrims more intimately and even got invited to join along! I don’t think I have it in me though. 15 days of walking! These pilgrims were impressive. Most of the women were middle aged in the least as their children were old enough to be left alone or with other family members.
