Thousands of Kashmiri Pandit expatriates and other devotees turned up at the annual Kheer Bhawani mela at Tulla Mulla, 27-km north of here, on Saturday.
Kheer Bhawani is the most revered place of worship for Kashmiri brahmins and the fair marks the annual pilgrimage to the sacred spring to seek the blessings of G
oddess Ragnya Devi. The spring is on an island and there is a small marble temple in the centre of it. The occasion is the eighth day of the full moon — ashtami shuklapaksh. According to legend, the goddess changes the colour of the spring water to rosy, various shades of green, diluted milky and light blue. The devotees wash their clothes and abstain from eating meat. They offer milk, candy sugar raisins, clarified butter and candles amidst chanting vedic and tantaraic hymns.
A battery of politicians visited Kheer Bhawani during the day. Among them was chief minister Omar Abdullah, who described “kashmiriyat” as a unique characteristic of Jammu and Kashmir’s traditional brotherhood and harmony, said that Kashmiri pandits are integral part of Kashmir. “Many attempts have been made in the past to damage this trait, but people foiled the ill designs time and again exhibited their firm faith in kashmiriyat,” he asserted.
The chief minister said his government was determined to nurture amity, love, brotherhood and mutual trust between various sections of the societies and the people of different faiths. “We have to join hands to restore and bloom kashmiriyat and help equitable and faster development of the state,” the chief minister said.