By Sadbhuja Gauranga dasa, Congregation devotee
Following our successful one-day padayatra in March the devotees in Maharashtra’s Arabian Sea town of Alibag vowed to cover the surrounding villages with similar events. Nowadays people are forgetting the culture of sankirtan and padayatra, so one of our major supporters, gram panchayat member Mr Anil Gurav, was pleased with our concept of padayatra and book distribution and encouraged us to continue with the project.
On May 8, 2022, the Alibag yatra held another one-day padayatra. At 6am fifty devotees and congregation members assembled at the Shriram mandir in Thal village near Alibag ready to walk the 9km to Lonare village. Devotees and congregation members alike were surcharged with love for padayatra and eager to walk and dance, the Vaishnavis especially enthusiastic about a holy walk so soon after the recent one.
We started from the Shriram mandir and marched ahead singing and dancing until we reached the house of Mrs Bhawana Kathe, another gram panchayat member, who welcomed us with garlands and arati. After a small talk, we moved ahead to Peth Square where several devotees and villagers were waiting with Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar and there performed arati of Their Lordships.
Our next stop was Thal Bazar where sarpanch Mr Sunil Patre and his good wife welcomed our party and Their Lordships. At the bazar Giriraj dasa gave a lecture on the glories of padayatra and detailed how padayatra is effective in preaching and how sankirtan reaches every village and town via padayatra. A large group of locals attended the programme organized by the sarpanch, at the end of which everyone honoured prasadam.
We then continued to Lonare where the villagers welcomed Gaura-Nitai and the padayatris. The congregation at Lonare honoured Their Lordships by arati and a grand sankirtan and after a small class by Giriraj prasadam was served to the villagers and assembled devotees.
Book distribution score: 22 Bhagavad-gitas.
