Devotees return after witnessing flag hoisting ceremony

The devotees have started returning to their respective destinations after witnessing the flag hoisting ceremony in Jhanda fair on Wednesday. The heads of various sangats (religious groups) would formally be sent off by Mahant Devendra Das after the city circumambulation ceremony on Friday. On Thursday, Mahant Devendra Das gave blessings to the Sangats in form of ‘Guru Mantra’. The Sangat devotees felt fortunate to be blessed to have received the ‘Guru Mantra’ from the Mahant. The devotees were seen jostling past each other to have a glimpse of the Mahant. The Sangat devotees accepted the ‘Guru mantra’ and promised to lead an ideal life, full of noble deeds and wisdom. Informing the devotees about the spiritual powers of Guru Maharaj, Mahant Devendra Das said that all the sufferings of human life can be ended by adopting the divine life of Guru Maharaj as a role-model to follow.

The coordinator of the Shri Darbar Sahib, VK Nautiyal said on Friday the Sangats would undertake a Nagar Parikrama (city circumambulation). 

The Sangats would start Parikrama from Darabar Sahib in morning. The Sangats would go to Saharanpur Chowk, Kanwali Road, and will finally reach Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School, Bindal where they would play devotional songs. 

After the rest the Sangats would reach Clock Tower, Darshan lal Chowk, Tehsil Chowk, Prince Chowk and will then reach lakhi Bagh. 

From there, the Nagar Parikrama will reach Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School, Bhandari Bagh where devotees will be distributed the holy prasad. The sangats would then pay homage to the former Mahants at their crematorium ground located at Matawala Bagh. From there, the Nagar Parikrama will move to Saharanpur Chowk and then finally would conclude at Darbar Sahib.

Meanwhile, the bookings for offering the Darshani and Sanil Gilafs (flag mast coverings) continued on Thursday. The officer in charge of Mela Committee BP Saklani told The Pioneer that on Thursday Ranjit Singh of Ambala in Haryana made the booking for offering Darshani Gilaf for the year 2105. The Mela Committee has setup a health camp in the premises of Darbar Sahib for the devotees. The camp has treated 930 devotees which included 167 children in the first two days of the fair.