Mandi: Chief deity arrives for Shivratri fair amid festivities

Mandi: Rituals for the weeklong Shivratri fair started here yesterday with the arrival of Kamrunag, chief deity of the festival, amid the beating of dhol and drums. Devotees thronged the city to welcome the chief deity. Besides Kamrunag, six more deities also arrived here to participate in the fair, which would officially begin on March 9.

Over 200 deities will take part in the fair. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu will inaugurate the event on Saturday. The main attraction of event will be Shobha Yatra of deities, which will be taken out on March 10, 12 and 15. Hundreds of deities will take part in this yatra along with their devotees from Mandi town to Padal ground. Apart from this, cultural and sports activities will be added attraction.

Wth the arrival of the deities the atmosphere in the city became devotional. People arrived here to pay obeisance to the deities and seek their blessings.

District Revenue Officer Harish Sharma, Tehsildar Narender Kumar and president of the Sarv Devta Samaj Samiti Shivpal Sharma welcomed the chief deity on behalf of the district administration near Pulgharat in the district. From there, Kamrunag deity reached Madho Rai Temple, where Apoorv Devgan, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of the International Shivratri Fair Committee, welcomed him by performing all rituals.

On the occasion, chairman of the APMC, Mandi, Sanjeev Guleria, Mandi MC Mayor Virender Bhatt and councillors, Addl DC Rohit Rathour, Additional DM Madan Kumar, SDM Om Kant Thakur, Sarv Devta Samaj Samiti president Shivpal Sharma and other members of the welcome committee were present.

Kamrunag deity paid obeisance at the Madho Rai temple. From there, he reached the palace along with devotees. At the palace, the members of the royal family welcomed him with traditional rituals.

After Kamrunag deity, Sukhdev Rishi Sharti, Sukhdev Rishi Thatta, Devi Baglamukhi Bakhali, Devi Budhi Bhairava, Dev Budha Bingal and Bajir Jhathi Veer registered their presence at the Madho Rai temple.