Muslims wait to welcome Pandit brethren as Tulmulla wears festive look

Tulmulla, June 13: While the administration and security agencies are on their toes to make arrangements for the Kheer Bhawani Mela on Friday, local Muslims of Tulmulla and surrounding areas of the Kheer Bhawani Temple in Ganderbal are enthusiastic about the event.

They are eagerly waiting for the Kashmir Pandits to welcome them.

The Kheer Bhawani Temple in Tullmulla in addition to being the holiest shrine of the local Kashmiri Pandit community is also the symbol of centuries-old syncretic culture.

The annual mela is famous as a display of Hindu-Muslim bonhomie with local Muslims making arrangements for worship for their Kashmiri Pandit brethren every year.

Muslims put up stalls every year outside the temple and prepare Kheer (pudding) for the devotees.

The devotees use it while offering prayers to the deity at a spring near the temple.

The majority of the local population is preparing to welcome the devotees, many of who are displaced Kashmiri Pandits who used to live side by side before their displacement.

The mela thus serves as a reunion of the members of the two communities.

The Kheer Bhawani Temple is associated with Ragnya Devi, a revered goddess of Kashmiri Pandits.

The annual festival is held on ‘Jeshtha Ashtami’ when devotees seek blessings of the deity.

According to the belief of Kashmiri Pandits, the goddess changes the colour of the spring’s waters, which are ascribed to different manifestations of the goddess.

Turning of the colour into shades of black is supposed to signal approaching disaster while the milky colour of the spring indicates peace and prosperity for Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the administration said that all arrangements had been made for the festival.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Shyambir said that all the arrangements for the festival had been made. He said a large number of devotees were expected to visit the Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple for which proper arrangements of transportation, health, accommodation, and other facilities were ensured.