The Kashmiri Pandit devotees on Tuesday thronged the temple at Tulmulla to celebrate the annual Kheer Bhawani Mela.
The devotees offered prayers on the occasion of ‘Zyeth Atham’ also known as ‘Jyeshtha Ashtami’ at the temple of Ragnya Devi in Tulmulla area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
A multi-layer security ring was thrown around the temple complex.
“There is some impact of the Pahalgam attack,” said Kashmiri Pandit Ashok Bhan.
He said last year a large number of devotees had visited the mela. “This year the number is lower than previous year.
The atmosphere in the temple brimmed with religious fervour and communal amity between Hindus and Muslims as locals opened not just their homes but their hearts as well for the people.
Bharat Bhushan, a Kashmiri Pandit currently living in Jammu, said appealed to tourists to visit the Kashmir Valley.
“There are some bad elements who want to destroy the Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. They tried to do that (in Pahalgam). But, today, on this occasion, we want to respond to them and say that the brotherhood will continue to exist. We appeal to our tourist brothers to come and visit Kashmir – ‘the paradise on earth’. Bad elements are in every community, they should be identified and dealt with according to the law of the land,” he said.
Muktesh Yogi, another Kashmiri Pandit, said presence of a large number of devotees at the Mela will send a good message.
“I think the people deserve to be congratulated the way they have come here and there is such a fervour. The large attendance of the devotees here is a good message for the country that there is no threat perception and people of Kashmir are welcoming,” he said.
Yogi said faith is always more powerful than fear.
As devotees jostled with each other to move closer to the main temple, walking barefoot and carrying rose petals, the chants of hymns echoed through the temple compound.