A ritual community worship of the presiding deity of Pandukeshwar area is being held after a gap of about 100 years with the locals praying for protection from disasters. In addition to the locals, natives living in different parts of the country are visiting Pandukeshwar to attend this five-day long ceremonial worship of Kuber, the presiding deity of this region. The ceremony was started earlier on Monday.
According to the villagers, traditionally, the Kuber Devra ceremony is organised by the locals to seek protection from natural disasters and epidemics. Such ceremonies have been held traditionally since old times when praying to the deities was one of the few means for people seeking prosperity and protection from the forces of nature and other threats.
locals state that when they approached the medium to seek information from Kuber about the 2013 disaster, they were told that by failing to organise the Kuber Devra for many years, the villagers themselves were responsible for bringing down the disaster upon themselves. The deity conveyed through the medium that organising the Kuber Devra would bring prosperity to the area. The residents of Pandukeshwar are collectively contributing to community feasts being organised as part of the ceremony.
During the night the locals present traditional religious compositions- jagar and folk dances. On Wednesday, the district magistrate also visited the venue of the ceremony with sources stating that Chief Minister Harish Rawat might also attend the ceremony on Thursday.