Indore: Marathi community members will begin their Dindi Yatra together at Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Itarsi, singing songs and hymns in praise of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur at 6:30pm on Friday.
The Marathi cultural procession, which is carried out across Maharashtra every year on the eleventh day of the month of Ashadh (Ashadhi Ekadashi), will see participation of thousands of community members in the city dancing to the tunes of religious hymns and beating drums. In Maharashtra, devotees from many different pilgrim stations carry out a rally to Pandharur singing and dancing along the way.
In Indore, the rally will begin from Krishnapura Chhatri, and will conclude at the Pandharinath Temple, passing through Rajwada, Imli Saheb Gurudwara and Macchi Bazaar. At the Pandharinath temple, special prayers will be offered to Lord Vitthal.
“This procession is an important festival prevalent in the city since Holkar era. However, it has been revived only since the past 10 years by the Samagra Marathi Samaj, which is a state wide organization that coordinated Dindi Yatra in different cities of MP,” Girish Joshi, convenor of Samagra Marathi Samaj said.
The eve of Ashadhi Ekadashi was also celebrated by Marathi community on Thursday. Sanand Nyas organized a concert of noted Marathi singer Mahesh Kale at DAVV auditorium in the city on.. The singer presented special religious hymns called ‘abhangs’ at the concert, which praise Marathi deity of Lord Vitthal. The singer also performed ‘nirguni’ hymns by Pt Kumar Gandharva, which were greatly appreciated by the audience.