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Agra gears up for Sawan festivities, first fair tomorrow
The first of the four fairs will be held at the Rajeshwar Temple, for which ceremonies are scheduled to be held on Sunday evening
The four major Shiva temples located in the four corners of the city have been readied for religious fairs to be organised every Monday of the ongoing Shravan month starting July 10. The first of the four fairs will be held at the Rajeshwar Temple, for which ceremonies are scheduled to be held on Sunday evening.
In view of the festivity, traffic restrictions will be put in place from Sunday evening till the end of the fair on Monday, a senior traffic official said.
“No heavy vehicle will be allowed to enter the city limits from 4 pm on Sunday till the end of the fair. The traffic plan has been issued and denizens are urged to cooperate with us,” said Arun Chand, the deputy commissioner for traffic police in Agra.
Talking about the annual event, the mahant of Mankameshwar temple Yogesh Puri said, “This is an age-old tradition. It is said that in the 19th century, this part of the country witnessed a plague epidemic and the elders then decided to perform ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation) of four temples located in four directions on the outskirts of the city. Fairs were organised at these temples one after another, and the tradition has continued since.”
“The first fair will be organised at the Rajeshwar Temple of Lord Shiva on the first Monday of Sawan. The next is at Balkeshwar temple on the banks of the Yamuna. The third fair -- usually the grandest of all -- is organised at the Kailash Mahadev temple near the Agra-Delhi national highway. The festivities conclude with the Prithvinath temple fair,” he explained.
Meanwhile, residents recollected stories of how people in the past visited the temples during the fairs on tongas.
Meanwhile, kiosks have been set up in the vicinity of the Rajeshwar temple. The traditional ‘aarti’ will be done in the wee hours of Monday.
