Jhanda Mela draws sea of devotees
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 28
Lakhs of devotees gathered at Guru Ram Rai Darbar on the inauguration of the four-day Jhanda Mela here today.
The holy mast bearing the flag of Guru Ram Rai was lifted today on his birth anniversary, marking the beginning of the historic Jhanda Mela. The Guru had established the seat of the Udasin sect in Dehradun.
The credit of transforming the ceremony of raising the flag into an egalitarian and community show goes to Guru Ram Rai’s wife Rani Punjab Kaur.
“It is faith that draws lakhs of pilgrims to Darbar Sahib. The life practised by Guru Ram Rai and mahants draws pilgrims from all religions,” said Devender Das, Mahant, Darbar Sahib, who presided over the ceremonies. Earlier in the day, the Jhanda Sahib was brought down.
The devotees bathed the 100-feet flag pole with milk, curd, ghee, Ganga water and honey. After this, the new wraps of the flag pole, known as ‘gilaaf’, was put on the holy flag pole before raising Jhanda Sahib again. This year, the opportunity to bring the wraps of Jhanda Sahib was performed by Bahadur Singh, a native of Ropar district of Punjab. He had booked it 25 years ago.
“A total of 20 velvet covers, one darshani cover and 40 covers made of cotton cloth cover up the mast. The pilgrims offer them as a gesture of thanksgiving and wish fulfilment,” said Bhupendra Raturi, a spokesperson for the darbar.
Lakhs of devotees from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, under the guidance of Mahant Devender Das Maharaj, raised the holy flag pole amidst raising of religious slogans.
