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Vrindavan and Agra: Faith, romance and New Year rush to garnish tale of two cities
With 2022 ending on a Saturday and 2023 beginning on a Sunday, the stage is set for a huge turnout at the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Bankey Behari Temple in Vrindavan for the New Year weekend.
Vrindavan and Agra are the favoured destinations for those looking to start the New Year with a dose of religion or a touch of romance.
With 2022 ending on a Saturday and 2023 beginning on a Sunday, the stage is set for a huge turnout at the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Bankey Behari Temple in Vrindavan for the New Year weekend.
About 10 lakh (1 million) devotees from across India, especially the National Capital Region (NCR), are expected to reach the twin religious cities of Mathura and Vrindavan on the extended weekend for the New Year celebrations, according to a rough estimate.
The Bankey Behari temple at Vrindavan is expected to be a much sought after destination for devotees intending to begin their year on Sunday with divine blessings.
Little wonder, the New Year weekend will be an acid test for those managing crowd movement. Already, the temple administration has issued guidelines. It has advised people not to bring elderly, the differently abled and children to the temple during the New Year rush from December 25, 2022 to January 5, 2023.
“Winter holidays and New Year breaks bring a huge inflow of devotees here. They wish to seek the blessings of Thakurji for an auspicious beginning of the year. However, with limited resources, crowd management becomes a tough task and poses a threat to the aged, physically challenged and children. Therefore, we have issued an appeal not to bring them,” said Munesh Sharma, the manager (administration) at Bankey Behari Temple in Vrindavan.
Even for routine weekends all through the year, there are special guidelines for devotees. The entry of vehicles is prohibited in Vrindavan on these two days.
Precaution is being taken especially as two devotees suffocated to death on Janamasthmi night (August 19,2022) amid the chaos caused by the presence of a huge crowd in the comparatively less spacious sanctum sanctorum of Bankey Behari temple, the way to which passes through the narrow lanes of Vrindavan.
“The trend of visiting religious spots is not confined to the aged. A majority of those visiting temples in Mathura and Vrindavan on weekends and at the year-end are from a younger generation, who look for an auspicious beginning to the New Year for success in their life and career. They now constitute the major crowd,” says Mahesh Pathak, the national president of Akhil Bharat Teerth Purohit Mahasabha, an organisation of priests.
“Religious destinations, too, are changing. It is now a matter of pride to take a selfie at the newly developed Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi. Those opting to stay in Mathura and Vrindavan get cheaper accommodation and even free lodging at ashrams and dharamshalas. Food and transport is reasonable here. Most of the hotels in Mathura and Vrindavan are booked days in advance,” Pathak said.
As for those looking for a romantic New Year getaway, Agra with its iconic monument of love, the Taj Mahal, is the destination of choice.
“For any new couple, there can be no better destination than the Taj for the New Year celebrations. The recognized hotels are almost booked for the New Year in both Agra and Mathura. Agra has a better network of hotels, cafes and restaurants. The extended weekend this New Year is going to be a time of celebration,” says Rajeev Saxena, Tourism Guild president.
“Those in the age bracket of 25 to 40 years love to drive to Agra. The Agra-Lucknow Expressway and Yamuna Expressway connecting the Taj city with NCR has enhanced the inflow. Those managing the crowd at the Taj Mahal are going to have a busy time. The number of visitors at the Taj Mahal in a day could touch 50,000 on the weekend,” said Saxena.
The Archaeological Survey of India that manages conservation work at the Taj Mahal has geared up for the occasion.
“With the onset of winter, there is already a good turnout at Taj Mahal. On weekdays, we have 17,000 to 18,000 visitors at the Taj Mahal daily. The number rises to 25,000 to 28,000 daily on the weekend in the tourist season. We expect the number of visitors to rise beyond 40,000 on the New Year weekend. Arrangements are being modified,” said Prince Vajpayee, senior conservation assistant for ASI at Taj Mahal.
“For the enhanced tourist inflow next week, ASI is in coordination with CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), assigned the task of internal security at Taj Mahal. On ASI’s part, we are (going) to increase the workforce for queue management, for which extra deployment of ASI personnel will be there. We will call our personnel,, who are otherwise stationed at Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, the two other monuments protected by ASI in Agra,” Vajpayee said.
