Pimpri: The 375th anniversary of the ascension of Sant Tukaram Maharaj to heaven is being celebrated this year. The Akurdi halt of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi procession has been going on for over 300 years. Taking advantage of this occasion, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation should build a Warkari Bhavan in Akurdi. Similarly, the instructions given to the Municipal Corporation by the late MLA Laxman Jagtap to build murals of saints, their abhangs, and other aspects related to the Warkari tradition on the metro pillars should be implemented. Also, a kirtan festival should be organized every year on the occasion of the Municipal Corporation’s foundation day, such demands were made by Shankar Jagtap, the city president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad BJP, and a delegation of the Maharashtra Warkari Mahamandal to Commissioner Shekhar Singh.
Shankar Jagtap, the city president of the BJP, led a delegation of the Maharashtra Warkari Mahamandal to meet Commissioner Shekhar Singh. The Commissioner held a meeting in his office and discussed with the delegation in detail. On this occasion, Shankar Jagtap, former Deputy Mayor Shailaja More, Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi procession chief Manikchand More Inamdar, Sant Tukaram Sansthan Committee President Purushottam More Inamdar, trustee Vishal Maharaj More Inamdar, Bhandara Dongar Committee president Balasaheb Kashid Patil, Maharashtra Warkari Mahamandal secretary Appa Bagal, Khandoba Trust Nigdi president Tanaji Katmor, Kasarvadi Datta temple founder Shivanand Swami, Jaywant Devkar, Kishor Patil, Maruti Pawar, Raj Kad Maharaj, Bapu Somwanshi, Jungle Maharaj Kalabhor, Prakash Jadhav, Aadesh Navale, Satpal Dhore, Ravindra Jadhav, Ram Bodke, and Supriya Solankure were present.
The tradition of devotion that started centuries ago, when there were no means of transportation or communication, is still going on today. Farmers, laborers, rich, and poor from the villages of Maharashtra walk the path of Pandharpur every year from Dehu and Alandi of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj. This wari is not only for the Warkaris, but it fills the lives of all the neighbors and relatives with spiritual joy. Even in the scorching sun, torrential rains, and stormy winds, this wari has been going on till today. In this unbroken tradition of bhakti, the 375th anniversary of the ascension of Sant Tukaram Maharaj to heaven is being celebrated this year. Similarly, the first halt of the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi procession, which goes to Pandharpur in the flow of wari, is also completing over 300 years in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
In Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi procession has a halt every year at the Vitthal temple in Akurdi. On the day of the palkhi halt, the citizens of the city continue to chant the name of Viththal. This chant has been going on for over 300 years. Against this backdrop, the delegation of Warkaris led by Shankar Jagtap met the Commissioner and made various demands. The Warkaris demanded that a Warkari Bhavan should be built at the palkhi halt site in Akurdi to provide accommodation for the Warkaris, and that a large ground should be reserved for the palkhi ground to keep the tradition of wari going on in the face of the growing population of the city and the future.
Shankar Jagtap, the city president of the BJP, reminded Commissioner Shekhar Singh of the instructions given by the late politician MLA Laxman Jagtap to the municipal administration to build murals of saints, their abhangs, and other aspects related to the Warkari tradition on the metro pillars. If the implementation of his instructions is done, the citizens of the city will be able to experience the wari every day and the atmosphere of devotion will remain, Shankar Jagtap told the Commissioner. Also, Maharashtra Warkari Mahamandal secretary and former corporator Appa Bagal suggested to Commissioner Shekhar Singh that a kirtan festival should be organized every year on the occasion of the Municipal Corporation’s foundation day.
After that, the delegation submitted the demands to the Commissioner. The Commissioner heard the demands of the delegation in detail and assured them that positive action will be taken on them, Shankar Jagtap said.
