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'Wari, warkaris' walk the faith, enter Pune

The atmosphere was electric and the mood devout as the two palkhis of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar entered the city.

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The atmosphere was electric and the mood devout as the two palkhis of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar entered Pune city on Saturday evening.

The roads wore a festive look with tens of thousands of warkaris painting the city orange with their turbans and flags. The devotional kirtans of Sant Dyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram gave a different flavour to the city.

The Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi arrived at the Mariaai Gate around 4pm and the Sant Dyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi followed soon after. They were welcomed by deputy mayor Prasanna Jagtap with garlands, memento and coconut.

“The wari that we have been part of has been a tradition for ages now. Arrangements for their food and lodging have been made in 26 schools of the city,” additional commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Naresh Zhurmure, told DNA.

The cries of dyanba-tukaram rented the air as warkaris danced with joy.

“I have been going with the palkhi for the last 15 years and have seen things change. What remains constant is the devotion of the warkaris,” said Bhagwan Maharaj Paitankar, who has travelled all the way from Mahurgad in Nanded district.

The warkaris were the first citizens on Saturday. Even the normally busy Fergusson College Road, which is congested with vehicles, had made way for them.  Many people stood at the sides of the road distributing refreshments and water to the warkaris. Several dindis (groups of warkaris) were treated to tea and snacks by Puneites.

The Vaikunthvyaas Jairambaba Bhansale dindi from Aurangabad comprising 125 warkaris was treated to tea and snacks by Uday Kamble, a resident of Wakdewadi. 

“We are offering food to the warkaris at our place for 50 years now. I am just following the tradition initiated by my grandfather in early 1960s,” Kamble said.

Interestingly, the wari became a perfect podium for raising social issues like corruption, the Lokpal Bill and farmer suicides. Volunteers of ‘India Against Corruption’ distributed pamphlets to the warkaris with messages against corruption. “We want to awaken the grass-roots level of the country about the ongoing corruption in the country,” said volunteer Bhavesh Bhatti.

There was also a dindi comprising the children of farmers, who had committed suicide, with banners spreading messages against farmer suicides.  The tradition of a wari may be hundreds of years old, but people’s devotion and the liveliness of the whole event remains fresh.

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