It was a sight to see thousands of electric lamps lighted at the banks of Ganga at Har Ki Paidi and earthen lamps being floated on the waves of Ganga. Amidst devotional chants, fireworks and colorful Holi, Multan Jyot Mahotsav was celebrated at Har Ki Paidi on Sunday.
The festival saw congregation of thousands of devotees from Delhi, Sonipat, Karnal, Panipat and nearby regions who come every year to offer prayers and earthen lamps in Ganga. Even the locals played Dudh ki Holi with the people of Multan coming all the way from Pakistan.
The festival was celebrated with full gaiety and religious fervour. After offering milk to Ganga at Har Ki Paidi, pilgrims mixed milk with Ganga water and showered milky water with water guns on each other. Speaking to The Pioneer, president of Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Multan Jyot Samiti, Mahendra Nagpal said, “This festival is not limited to only people of Multan but has encompassed all communities of India. People offer small lamps in Ganga river asking the goddess for fulfillment of wishes.” The evening saw duplicates of famous Bollywood stars and the political leaders participating in the celebrations. Television actor Amit who is duplicate of Amitabh Bachhan, Abhinandan Pathak Modi who is duplicate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a duplicate of Baba Ramdev were the main attractions in the evening Mahotsav." The festival has its roots way back in 1911, when a devotee Roop Chand of Multan region had walked on foot all the way from present day Pakistan with a message of universal brotherhood to Haridwar and offered a Jyot (lamp) to Ganga river. Later on this took the form of festival and every year people of Multan who are settled in India come to Haridwar to mark this fest. People of other communities also gather in solidarity with the Multan pilgrims at Har Ki Paidi and offer prayers.