COVID19: Mela Kheer bhawani unlikely this year

The annual Kheer Bhawani Mela, one of the biggest religious festivals of Kashmiri Pandits, is unlikely to see any participation this year in view of COVID-19 outbreak.

Sources said the management of the Dharmath Trust has decided to cancel the celebration of the Kheerbhawani Mela scheduled on May 30 citing outbreak of coronavirus, lockdown restrictions and government advisories.

   

“All the rituals and arati of the deity will be conducted as per tradition by priests in the Kheerbhawani Temple on May 30 and the same will be shared with the public and devotees via social media,” sources said.

A member of the Trust here told Greater Kashmir that in the larger public interest and safety, “it has been decided to restrict public festivities and religious activities; hence the Kheer Bhawani Mela would not take place this year.”

Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal Shafqat Iqbal told Greater Kashmir that they have not received any communication about the cancellation of the Mela Kheerbhawani yet. However, he said that it was unlikely to take place like earlier when thousands of devotees attended it.

Thousands of Kashmiri Pandit devotees, particularly the migrated Kashmiri Pandits, every year thronged the famous Kheer Bhawani temple associated with the Ragnya Devi, a revered goddess of Kashmiri Pandits, located in Tulmulla village of Ganderbal district to attend the annual mela.

The annual festival is held here on ‘Jeshtha Ashtami’ when pilgrims seek the blessings of the deity. According to belief, the goddess changes the colour of the spring’s waters, which are ascribed to different manifestations of the goddess.

Turning of the colour into shades of black is supposed to signal approaching disaster while as the milky colour of the spring indicates the peace and prosperity for the state.

The term Kheer refers to rice pudding that is offered in the spring to propitiate the goddess, which became part of the name of this revered temple.

The Kheerbhawani mela has become a symbol of communal harmony as Muslims in the locality of Kheerbhawani temple at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district make all the arrangements for the devotees, including setting up of stalls for flowers and other offerings.

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