Shabri Kumbh from February 11
Dangs ready to welcome seven lakh Vanvasis
By Kailash Sharma
Preparations for the much-awaited Shabri Kumbh in Dangs district of Gujarat are in full swing under the directions of noted saint Shri Morari Bapu. More than 1000 workers from different parts of the country are wholeheartedly engaged in the preparations for providing clean and hygienic boarding and lodging as well as medical aid to each of the visitors to the Kumbh. The Shabridham will be ready by February 9 to welcome the seven lakh Vanvasis from different parts of the country.
The Kumbh is formally scheduled to begin on February 11 with Kumbh Snan, Kumbh Pujan and Dharma Sabha followed by various cultural programmes.
The prominent saints who would address the Dharma Sabha include Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati (Jyotirmath), Swami Satyamitranand Giri, Sant Morari Bapu, Dr Pranav Pandya (Gayatri Parivar), Swami Awadheshanand Giri, (Harid-war), Sadhvi Ritambhara, Sadhvi Shiva Saraswati, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Vidyanrusinhabharati (Karveer Peeth), Avichaldas Maharaj, Acharya Kishor Vyas and Sant Asaram Bapu. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Shri Jagdevram Oraon, president of Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, will be present at the inaugural ceremony.
On the second day of the Kumbh, i.e. February 12, the RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan, Shri Indresh Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Sah-Sampark Pramukh of RSS, Shri Gunwant Singh Kothari, organising secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Pramilatai Medhe, Sah-Pramukh Sanchalika of Rashtra Sevika Samiti would be present. At the concluding ceremony to be held on February 13, Shri Mohan Bhagwat, RSS Sarkaryavah, Shri Ashok Singhal, VHP president and Sadhvi Ritambhara will address the gathering.
?Shabri Kumbh will promote self-respect and confidence among the participants and will also pave the way for their all-round development. It will also be a unique event for promotion of national integration. It will have countrywide representation of all Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.?
The prime objective behind organising the Shabri Kumbh is the promotion of social integration amongst the Vanvasis and also to develop awareness among them. ?It will promote self-respect and confidence among the participants and will also pave the way for their all-round development. It will also be a unique event for national integration, as the Vanvasis coming from across the country will feel like joining the mainstream. The Kumbh will have countrywide representation of all Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes,? said Swami Asimanand, the Vanvasi saint who is looking after the whole preparations of the Kumbh.
Vanvasis from across the country will display their folk-arts, crafts and dancing skills at the Kumbh. A huge exhibition of Vanvasi cultures is also being organised at the venue. Pictures depicting the life sketch of Vanvasi revolutionaries as well as the saints, who took part in the freedom struggle, will also be there in the Kumbh. In fact, it is an effort to highlight the life-long work done by the Vanvasis for the nation.
The exhibition would have three prime sections. First, it is self -reliance. In order to make Vanvasis financially self-dependent, approximately 50 stalls would display various successful experiments, such as bio-diesel, bull-driven tractors, etc. The second section would display the message of what is required to be done by the entire society to protect the security of the nation. The pictorial display of various characters in the Ramayana, such as Jataayu, Kevat, Jambavant, etc. would be an attraction for everyone. Also there would be on display the introduction of more than 300 freedom fighters of Vanvasi origin. The third section would highlight the challenges the nation is facing today in the form of pictures and graphics.
Forty padyatras from various places would arrive at the Kumbh. During the Mela, the people will take a bath in the Pampa lake and have darshan of Shabridham. In order to facilitate arrival of large number of devotees at Shabridham, transportation arrangements have been made from various places such as Nasik, Navapur, Bardoli, Surat, Ahva, etc. Large-scale arrangements for food and health care have been made at the Kumbh site. There are proper arrangement for nine kitchens, 40 locations to stay, three hospitals and OPD at every nagar. For providing drinking water 24 check-dams have been built on Poorna river, which will also help the local farmers to grow two crops per annum after the Kumbh is over. For the Kumbh, two and half kilometers long ghat has been built on the banks of Pampa lake. All the residential quarters will be served by water, electricity, roads and all other facilities for three days of the Kumbh. Special arrangements have been made to guide the devotees during the Kumbh. A reception committee presided by Shri Vimal Poddar has been constituted to welcome the devotees.
