‘No palkhi procession, but wari tradition will be maintained’

Padukas will be carried by road or air to Pandharpur on June 30: Ajit Pawar

With COVID-19 cases rising in Pune, Satara and Solapur districts, authorities on Friday decided to cancel the annual pilgrimage made on foot by lakhs of warkaris (devotees) to the temple town of Pandharpur carrying palkhis (palanquins) bearing the padukas (footprints) of saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram.

In a bid to uphold the 800-year-old tradition of Ashadhi Wari, the State government, represented by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, said the padukas would be carried by road or air to Pandharpur in Solapur district on June 30.

Meeting with authorities

Mr. Pawar made the announcement after a meeting with district authorities of Pune, Satara and Solapur and members of the Vitthal-Rukmini Temple trust committee in Pandharpur, and trustees in Alandi and Dehu.

Mr. Pawar said, “The State government is eager that this time-honoured tradition not be discontinued owing to the present crisis. Members of other communities, too, have restricted religious activities to indoors. Keeping this ideal in times of the present medical emergency, we have taken this decision in a bid to preserve the tradition of Ashadhi Wari and avoid crowding to keep the contagion in check.”

He said as the monsoon will be in full swing by the end of June, district authorities and the trustees will decide on the mode of transport to take the padukas to Pandharpur. Each year, lakhs of warkaris, from Maharashtra and neighbouring States, traverse 230-odd km from Alandi and Dehu in Pune carrying the palanquins bearing the padukas of the saints to the shrine of Lord Vithoba in Pandharpur.

Abhay Tilak of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan committee in Alandi said, “We had submitted three proposals to the authorities and the State government to conduct all ceremonies with minimal people. However, COVID-19 cases are rising daily in Pune, Satara and Solapur — the districts through which the palkhi processions will have to pass. We have resorted to the option of taking the padukas by road or air depending upon the weather conditions.”

The wari was scheduled to start from Alandi and Dehu on June 13, but with the palkhi processions cancelled, Mr. Tilak said the padukas would remain in Alandi till June 30.

Ceremony on June 13

Mr. Tilak said, “We will be strictly adhering to the guidelines given by authorities. On June 13, with minimal people, we would be performing the necessary ceremony for the prasthana or the ‘taking off’ of the padukas. The footprints of the saints will remain in Alandi and Dehu for the remainder of the month. We will then proceed by road or air to Pandharpur on June 30.”

While written records are scarce, it has been said that the wari was not held twice in modern times – once in 1912, probably due to the plague and the second was reportedly in 1945, though the reason at that time is unknown.