*First time Shobha Yatra of Lord Rama not organized
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 2: Amid lockdown due to outbreak of novel Coronavirus, the festival of ‘Ram Navmi’ which is celebrated every year with great enthusiasm and religious fervor in the City of Temples, remained a low-key affair this year as all the temples remained closed for public and people mostly refrained themselves from observing the ritual of ‘Kanya Poojan’ and ‘Sakh Immersion’ while first time (since it was started) the Shoba Yatra of Lord Rama was not organized.
The 9-day-long Navratri festival during which the nine incarnations of Goddess Durga are worshipped, culminates with Ram Navami. Devotees, who have been observing fast throughout Navratri, break the fast on this day by performing ‘Kanya Poojan’ and ‘Sakh Immersion’ but the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Coronavirus dampened the spirit of Ram Navami celebrations in Jammu this year.
Unlike every year, there was no rush of devotees in temples to pay obeisance to Lord Rama as administration had even closed temples for public to avoid gathering in view of Coronavirus outbreak. However, rituals associated with the birth anniversary of the Lord Rama were performed as per the tradition in temples by the priests.
The celebration was a low-key affair at historic Raghunath Temple which remained closed for devotees in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic but designated priests offered prayers of Lord Rama and performed Hawan, Aarti and Yagna. The temple was decorated with lights and flowers.
Every year on this day, Jammu and Kashmir Dharmarth Trust in collaboration with several social and religious organizations of Jammu organize Shobha Yatra of Lord Rama, which is taken out in a traditional Rath from various parts of Jammu but no such Shobha Yatra could be conducted this year due to restrictions.
However, as per the rituals, the idols of Shri Ram, Laxman Ji and Mata Sita were taken from the sanctum of Holy Raghunath Mandir and Parikarma was performed inside the temple premises.
As per the advisory of the Government on social distancing, people offered prayers with four walls of their homes. They performed ‘Kanjak Poojan’ and distributed sweets, ‘halwa-puri’, coconut and applied ‘Tilak’ to girl child within their localities while there was no hustle bustle due to complete lockdown in view of coronavirus.
Many families refrained from observing the ritual of ‘Kanya Pujan’, and they instead chose to donate funds to help the Government fight the pandemic. They said this was done to maintain physical distance and avoid putting the girls in unnecessary risk.
Geeta Vaid, a resident Jain Bazaar, said she avoided the ritual this time and instead donated ration to a social organization which has been providing free food to the needy and homeless.
Sweeti Jyotshi, a resident of Karan Nagar (Jammu) said many families in her locality pooled in money and donated it to the J&K Relief Fund to support the UT administration fight against the Coronavirus.
Anupama Dogra, a resident of Talab Tillo, said she did not want to risk the lives of the girls. “We kept it simple, made halwa and offered prayers to Maa Durga.”
“If not this time, we will do ‘Kanya Pujan’ during the next Navratri. Safety of girls is paramount. Even the goddess knows these are unprecedented times,” she added.
Due to restrictions, people were not allowed to move out for immersion of ‘Saakh’ and appealed to perform the traditions in their houses. Police personnel were also deployed few meters short of River Tawi to stop people from reaching the river bank.
However, in several localities it was seen that people individually came out with ‘Saakh’ and put them inside small mohalla temples from where these were collectively taken for immersion by some designated persons in their private vehicles.
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