The city witnessed a surge of religious fervour during the annual ‘Nagar Parikramma’ (city circumambulation) ritual of Jhanda Fair on Wednesday. Thousands of devotees thronged the major roads of the city to witness the rally. An important ritual in the 443- year old history of Jhanda Fair, the Nagar Parikrama started from Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib in the morning and thousands of the devotees participated while chanting Sabats (holy verse) and Kirtanas on the way.
The Sangat (religious procession) was blessed by Mahant Devendra Dass. The procession was welcome at several points by the residents of the city during the Parikrama.
People jostled past each other to have a glimpse of the majestic procession. They showered floral petals and chanted Bhajans as the Sangat marched forward during the Parikrama. The holy procession was offered refreshments and garlands by the locals on the way.
The Nagar Parikrama is held on third day of the Jhanda Fair. A sangat (devotees) numbering about 25000 devotees started the Parikrama from the historic Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib at 9.30 am. From here the procession reached Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School, Bindal via Saharanpur Chowk and Kanwali Road. Here the Sangat devotees were distributed the ‘Prasad’ of ‘roasted grams and Jaggery (Gur)’. The ‘Nagar Parikramma’ then reached Tilak Road and then proceeded to the Clock Tower via Tilak Road and Tagore Villa. On reaching the Clock Tower, the Sangat was welcomed by the shop owners who threw floral petals on the procession.
Speaking on the occasion, Mahant Devendra Dass said that the ‘Sangat’ devotees from across India and abroad reach Dehradun to be a part of the ‘Nagar Parikramma’. He said that every year, the residents of Dehradun display a lot of affection, care and love for the ‘Sangat’ devotees.
The effect of this love is that every year the ‘Sangats’ reach in a large number, he added. The Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’, many MLAs and dignitaries were present on the occasion to welcome the religious procession.
After the ritual of Nagar Parikramma was over, the process of the farewell (Vidai) of the ‘Sangats’ and ‘Masandas’ (head of sangats) started in the evening.