The temple is a sacred site for the scattered members of the Kashmiri Pandit community

Amidst a spate of civilian killings in Kashmir, the majority of Kashmiri Pandits gave a miss to the annual festival at Kheer Bhawani, a revered temple of Mata Maha Ragnya in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

The number of Pandit pilgrims was on the lower side on Wednesday but the spirits of the devotees who took part in the mela were high.

A few dozen devotees reached the Tulmulla to celebrate the ‘Zyestha Ashtami’ after Mata Kheer Bhawani Asthapan Trust had appealed to all devotees, Kashmiri Pandits in particular, to cancel the annual “Mata Kheer Bhawani Mela” in view of recent targeted killings.

Dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi, the temple, one of the sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus, is situated at a distance of 27 kilometre from Srinagar.

The devotees prayed for a peaceful return of Pandits to their homeland as hymns reverberated through the air at the 112-year-old Kheer Bhawani temple, a sacred site for the scattered members of the Kashmiri Pandit community.

The temple complex is known as Kheer Bhawani as the devotees offer milk and kheer (milk pudding) to the sacred spring which, the legend has, changes its colour.

The temple was constructed by former monarch Pratap Singh in 1912 even as the springs there held religious sanctity for Kashmiri Pandits for many centuries, with members of the community claiming the place’s origin dates back to the times of Lord Rama.

In modern times, when thousands of Pandits have lost their homes in Kashmir and the BJP government is trying hard to bring them back, the temple offers a deep connection to the people of this lost tribe.

At the temple, scenes of former neighbours and old friends having accidental meetings as they come to worship are common on the day of the festival.

The festival also offers a rare interaction between Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims, many of whom form the security ring shielding the temple and the local vendors who prepare kheer and candles, offered as part of the worshipping ritual.

The festival is the largest gathering of Hindus in Kashmir after the annual Amarnath Yatra.

Courtesy: The Tribune India :8th June , 2022