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Pune in pixels: Community barriers shatter as warkaris, camaraderie embrace city
Around three lakh warkaris - followers of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar - and two palkhis of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshwar arrived in Pune city on Saturday evening amid road diversions and heavy rainfall. Dressed in white dhoti-kurta and nine yard sarees, the warkaris carried steel utensils with them to avoid using plastic, displaying adherence to the plastic ban imposed by the state government. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)
Updated on: Jul 08, 2018 6:10 PM IST
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Around three lakh warkaris - followers of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar - and two palkhis of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshwar arrived in Pune city on Saturday evening amid road diversions and heavy rainfall. Dressed in white dhoti-kurta and nine yard sarees, the warkaris carried steel utensils with them to avoid using plastic, displaying adherence to the plastic ban imposed by the state government. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)
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Warkaris walk as part of the Saint Tukaram palkhi procession at Shivajinagar on Saturday. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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Pune is currently the home of around three lakh warkaris, who entered the city along with the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj palkhi processions. (Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)
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Dressed in white dhoti-kurta and nine yard sarees, the warkaris carried steel utensils with them to avoid using plastic, displaying adherence to the plastic ban imposed by the state government. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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A statue of Saint Tukaram being carried by pilgrims during the palkhi procession at Shivajinagar on Saturday. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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Sardarji Harmahindra Singh Rawal Singh Chhabra is 60 years old and feels that God needed him to serve the warkaris. “Though my father migrated from Punjab in 1960, I was born and brought up in Pune, Maharashtra. It is my home now and if there is any cultural or religious event, I am a part of it,” said Chhabra, who has an electronics shop by the name of Mahindra Electronics in Raviwar peth, Laxmi road. Twenty five years ago, Chhabra began cooking just one kilogramme of rice and offering it to the passing warkaris in front of his store. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)
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Among the lakhs of pilgrims who entered Pune on Saturday was a 30-year-old Sandeep Borade, a master of business management (MBA) graduate from Jalna. However, Borade is not like the other pilgrims who had walked from Dehugaon with a palanquin carrying a representation of Sant Tukaram. He was riding his bike, which has been modified into a mobile public service message delivery vehicle, promoting afforestation. (HT PHOTO)
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An artist at heart and farmer by profession, 49-year-old Phulchand Nagtilak walks around in a saffron kurta. Ever-smiling, Nagtilak, an enthusiastic speaker, narrated a sonnet this year as a part of a monologue he had performed for spreading awareness about saving children and cleaning the city. (HT PHOTO)
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Warkaris eat at Omkareshwar temple after the palkhi procession halted for a day on Saturday at Shivajinagar. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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The entire police station staff was on duty to man the roads, with as many as 10,000 policemen being deployed on the ground. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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Vehicular traffic was thrown out of gear on Saturday with the arrival of lakhs of devotees for palkhi celebrations in Pune. Despite traffic diversions on major roads in the city and internal roads being closed by the traffic department, chaotic traffic and long queues of honking vehicles was seen in the evening at Hadapasar, Shivajinagar, Yerawada, Pune Camp, MG Road, Lullanagar and the other residential areas on the palkhi route. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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While many Maharashtrian families in the city find it their duty to look after the warkaris, who arrive in the city for rest during their 21-day pilgrimage, there are other communities who have come forward to help look after the tired pilgrims. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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Many residents and warkaris made sure that they cleaned up after the procession. A scene from Shivajinagar on Saturday. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)
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