WAARI : THE PROCESSION OF LIFE

Jai Jai Vithoba Rakhumai

It was a wonderful Wednesday morning. The black clouds had accumulated in the sky overlooking a breathtaking view of Pune City. At 6 in the morning the Sun refused to make an appearance. Yes it was none other than the special day of Pune City on which around Seven Hundred thousand people walk cross Pune City to go to Pandharpur which is about 250 kms away. The entire distance is cover on foot while they sing Bhajans and Abhang. This spectacular walk is the largest and the most magnificent event of Maharashtra.  The entire distance is covered in around 15 days. Some people who cannot spare fortnight also have an option to walk only one of the legs. The most difficult leg of this event is Pune to Saswad which is around 32 Kms.

It does not matter even if it rains. The walk is on.

Inspired by my parents and my mother in law, I decided to walk a stretch of 32 kms from Pune to Saswad on Wednesday the 3^rd July 2013. They have been doing this for many years now and hence could get excellent guidance from them. My 62 year old friend, Malwadkar Kaku had done this earlierand was more than willing to accompany me.

The day starts off with a pleasant surprise when we see the “Dindi” walking along Shankarshet Road at Seven Loves square. We also start walking with them.  As we walk half a kilometer it starts raining and I realize I have worn wrong shoes. They are wet hence start cursing myself. But then I am able to look around and to my amazement, there are many who are wearing slippers and some of them are even bear foot. Ashamed of myself I now reconcile and am suddenly extremely comfortable with my footwear.

There are people everywhere. Most of them in a traditional attire worn mostly in the country side, Dhoti, Kurta and white cap. The procession is made energetic with the Bhajans and Abhanga. People are so engrossed in singing that they do not bother about the rain or wind. The weather is awesome with light drizzles and cool breeze.

As we walk past some people, one person calls me out, “Mauli, are you going to Saswad”. I nod my head, and ask him where is he from? He tells me he came from Parbhani district. As I interact with him, he tells me that he finished all the preliminary work of sawing seeds and has come here to go to Pandharpur. He has been doing it for past 6 years. He is drenched in rain. So I offer him to take the rain coat from the road side which is being distributed free. He refuses to do so and tells me if I do so I will not get anything from this exercise. You should never take anything from any one if you can afford to buy it yourself.  We start walking side by side and he tells me about his dindi. Around 80 people have joined him from his village.

I am enjoying every bit of Vaari now. The Bhajans are mesmarising. I clap to the rhythm and sing along with them.  The people are walking at a uniform pace. There are lots of volunteers on both the sides of the road. Lots of people are donating the eatables, raincoats, fruits, dhotis etc. People are lining up to collect whatever they need.

Now I realize, Vaari is a true representation of the society. There are majority of the people who are honest and sincere. They keep walking and praying. They do not collect anything that is being distributed for free. There is another set of people who accept only what is necessary for them to complete this procession. They do not run after the donors to grab the offerings. There is a third set who queues up for anything that is being distributed for free. These people are in minority however they become the major highlight and spread a negative word.

As we cross Phursungi and Wadaki, we now enter the ghat section. This is an uphill walk and the most difficult portion of the procession.  There is a dindi singing nice inspirational songs hence we decide to walk with them.  the entire ghat is full of people. If you look ahead you can see a line of Safron colour flags floating in the sky. As you look behind from the height, you can see the caps and turbans walking at a distance. The entire atmosphere is filled with Hari Naam : “Vithal Vithal Jai Hari”. There are people already sitting on the top of the hills to observe the procession.

Dnyanoba Tukaram

As we cross the ghat section, I ask if we reached Saswad and to my dismay, we still need to cover 7 kms. We take some rest and decide to reach the final destination. My legs are paining but my mind is fresh. We again join the singing group which makes our journey interesting. There is one person who tells me, he has been accompanying the Palkhi for past 22 years. He does it all by himself. There is a lady in nine yard Saari. She tells me that she came with her group from Phaltan. She is all praises for Pune city. She says, the people of Pune are the most generous people she has ever seen. More people join her and say, we have never been cheated in your city for all these years. It is a great city and has great people. I can’t believe what I just heard. I tell them, that since Mauli’s Aalandi is so close by, we are indebted to all his disciples.  My heart is filled with pride but at the same time I am aware I am incapable to take any credit.

Vaari is an all inclusive process. Any person who walks a few steps, is infused my the positivity of life. He is blessed with the presence of almighty and is charged by the goodness of people around. I am yet to meet a person who has even slightest negativity. Whether we believe or not the thoughts that provoked the society seven hundred years ago to follow the ethical path, the thoughts of saints that brought back the goodness of life are still so fresh that they can enchant the entire atmosphere.

As we follow the footsteps of Varkaris ( people who are the part of vaari), we reach our destination. We meet up with the traffic police who tells us the way to catch a bus to Pune. But at the same time, tells us affectionately that we should wait till the Palkhi of Dnyaneshwar Maharaj arrives. I can feel the warmth of Mauli filled in him. Now I realize the strength of this event.

Lakhs of feet walk side by side, for varied reasons, from varied locations to  a single destination with a single objective. The reasons are different but the goal is same. Goal is to meet the almighty, goal is to get absorbed in him so much that there is no duality. Goal is to celebrate the humanity. Goal is to celebrate the life nurtured by the mother earth.