Palkhi processions: Over 3 lakh pilgrims reach Pune

PUNE: Over 3 lakh pilgrims reached the city on Sunday as part of the annual palkhi processions of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj from the temple town of Alandi, around 22km from here, to Pandharpur in neighbouring Solapur district.
The procession culminates on the auspicious day of ‘Ashadhi Ekadashi’, which falls on July 4 this year, at the temple of Lord Vitthala in Pandharpur.
Chants of “Dnyanba Mauli Tukaram” rang out as the warkaris, undeterred by the weather, marched with cymbals in their hands. After a brief rest on Monday, the warkaris will embark on their journey to Pandharpur on Tuesday.
Traditionally, about 90% of the participants have been farmers, with most of them coming from Maharashtra and the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The palhis of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj reached Nivdunga Vithoba Mandir at Nana Peth and Palkhi Vithoba Mandir at Bhavani Peth, respectively, on Sunday evening. The processions were set to depart for Pandhurpur via Hadapsar on Tuesday morning.
Starting from Dehu phata and Alandi, respectively, the palkhis of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar started their journey towards Pune around 5am. The Sant Dnyaneshwar palkhi moved towards Dighi and Vishrantwadi, where the pilgrims halted for lunch. The Sant Tukaram palkhi meanwhile, passed through Bhakti Shakti Chowk, Pimpri, Kasarwadi and Khadki.
Both the palkhis converged at Sangamwadi bridge near Patil Estate. From there, they moved towards Agriculture College and passed through the Fergusson College Road, Goodluck Chowk, Alka Talkies Chowk and Belbaug Chowk before reaching Nana Peth and Bhavani Peth.
Ajit Kulkarni, palkhi head and chief trustee of the Alandi Sansthan Committee, said around 2.5-3 lakh pilgrims took part in the procession of Sant Dnyneshwar palkhi. He, however, did not comment on the number of the pilgrims with the Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi.
Citizen groups came out in large numbers to make offerings such as food, drinking water and clothes. Bhakti Satpute and her office colleagues put up a stall at Vishrantwadi and cooked ‘khichdi’ for the warkaris. “We do this every year. I think it takes a lot of effort to march this distance so we can offer our bit to the warkaris,” she said.
Sarita Kulkarni came with husband Sujit and daughter Sia, on Fergusson College Road. Sarita said, “We wait at the Goodluck Chowk every year and seek blessings of the lord.”
Chants of ‘Ganba Tukaram’ echoed throughout the routes of both the palkhis. While some women carried ‘tulsi’ pots on their heads, several were spotted swaying saffron flags.
City mayor Mukta Tilak and other civic officials welcomed palkhi processions near the Patil Estate junction.