Flag hoisting of women's akhada a damp affair

The flag hoisting of Pari Akhada by Mahant Trikal Bhavanta turned out to be a rather low-key affair.

Mahant Trikal Bhavanta had announced the dhwaja rohan and peshwai of the akhada's women on Tuesday. With claims that thousands of women affiliated to her akhada would attend the flag hoisting and stay for the Kumbh Mela, Mahant Trikal Bhavanta had announced that the ceremony, a first for her akhada, would be a grand affair.

Mahant Trikal Bhavanta was exposed after a sting operation by Mahant Shivani Durga, also a sadhvi, who has now joined the Shaiva sect, Shree Panch Taponidhi Anand Akhada in Trimbakeshwar, and set up her own ashram.

But she managed to get two plots for herself. She went on to declare her own dhwaja rohan on Tuesday, a day before the three main Vaishnav Ani akhadas were to conduct their flag hoisting in a grand ceremony to be attended by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP chief Amit Shah. She tried getting dignitaries for her programme, but failed.

Scheduled for 6am, the flag hoisting of Pari Akhada finally took place at 11.30am. Only about 30-35 women chanted bhajans as the flag was raised.

Mahant Trikal Bhavanta had different reasons to give on why the ceremony was not a big success. Initially, she said she was not provided with the balli — the wooden post to raise the flag. Then she said her followers were stranded because trains were cancelled or delayed from Haridwar and other places up north. After many hurdles the small group of women clad in new saffron sarees, took a small round of the premises and raised the flag.