Jammu Tawi, June 14: “Faith is more powerful than fear,” said a pilgrim, who was among the hundreds visiting temples across Jammu and Kashmir to celebrate the Mela Kheer Bhawani, amid heightened security following four terrorist attacks in the Union Territory.
The fair — an annual event at the Kheer Bhawani temple, dedicated to Rangya Devi, in Ganderbal district’s Tulmulla — is also celebrated in other shrines and temples in Jammu and Kashmir to mark ‘Zyeth Atham’, or ‘Jyeshtha Ashtami’.
“Everything is in the hands of God. There is some fear but people have come here in large numbers. Faith is more powerful than fear,” Sunny, a Kashmiri Pandit from Delhi, said as he and several others from the community congregated at Rangya Devi in the central Kashmir district for the Mela.
Terrorists struck at four places in Reasi, Kathua and Doda districts in the Jammu province between Sunday and Wednesday, killing nine people, including seven pilgrims and a CRPF jawan. Seven security personnel, 41 pilgrims and a villager were also injured in the attacks.
The pilgrims were attacked while they were travelling in a bus to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu’s Katra on June 9.
Strict security measures were implemented to ensure the safety of the devotees. A multi-layered security ring was established around the temple complex and along the routes.
Several Kashmiri Pandits also thronged a temple in Jammu city to mark the start of the three-day annual mela, seeking blessings and paying tributes to the victims of terror attacks.
Kheer Bhawani Peeth at Janipur area of Jammu city was constructed as a replica of the original shrine here after mass migration of the community from the valley in early 1990’s.
“This is our biggest festival which we have been celebrating here for the past three decades … We prayed for the safety of our country, especially Jammu which has come on the terror radar,” Anu, who visited Kheer Bhawani Peeth, said.
Sunny said that the members of the Kashmiri Pandit community felt very good to pay obeisance at the revered shrine.
D K Kaul, another Kashmiri Pandit who visited the temple here after 20 years, said there seems to be no fear among the pilgrims.
The devotees offered tribute to the goddess as men took a dip in the stream close to the shrine. They paid obeisance to the deity while offering milk and ‘kheer’ (pudding) at the sacred spring within the complex.
It is believed that the colour of the sacred spring water flowing beneath the temple here reflects the conditions in the valley.
Political leaders, including former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, BJP’s President Ravinder Raina, and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, also paid obeisance at the shrine.
Abdullah, the president of the National Conference (NC), said he wants the Pandits to return to their homeland.
“Our brothers and sisters are praying here. They want to return to their homes. We want them to return and live together in peace and brotherhood.
We have come here to pray for the whole country, to live in peace and brotherhood and for the prosperity of the country,” Abdullah told reporters.
