Ram Navami shobhayatras are city's unique heritage

NAGPUR: Nothing defines the cultural fabric of the city better than the shobha yatras on Ram Navami day. With hundreds involved in preparation and lakhs viewing it, these yatras make Navami celebrations a much awaited event for Nagpurians.
Ram Navami marks the culmination of Chaitra navratri, the nine days when Ram and Durga are worshipped. It is also the day when Ram was born.Though the shobha yatra is not the part of any religious ritual, yet it is organised by prominent Ram temples in the city.
The oldest and the biggest procession is organised by the Poddareshwar Ram Mandir located at Central Avenue. The yatra is in its 46{+t}{+h} year. Umesh Sharma, the octogenarian who was amongst the group of organisers who planned the first procession over four decades ago, says that the size and stature of this event has increased as fourth generation Nagpurians are now associating with it.
"We started for the purpose of instilling some sanskars in the kids. The floats depicting sequences from our scriptures, performances of folk dances and the processions led by an event which we call mangal kalash, leave a deep imprint on the hearts and minds of our children who then learn to pay their obeisance to these traditions," he adds.
Such is the significance of this event, predominantly organised in the central and south western parts of the city, that people from other religions participate with equal fervour. "The procession crosses the Hansapuri area and people there also set up welcome gates to receive the yatra," says Sharma.
Catching up with the trend are emerging shobha yatras in other areas like Wadi, Ujwal Nagar and north Nagpur too. The one that indisputably stands out among these is Shri Ramjanam Utsav Shobha Yatra organised by the Pashchim Nagpur Nagarik Sangh, which starts from Ram Mandir in Ram Nagar.
Kishor Kolwadkar, convenor of the event says that the size of this procession, in its 36{+t}{+h} year, has grown with the population of west Nagpur. "It was in 2005 that the scale of this shobha yatra became so large. Previously a palaki of Ramji used to be taken out. It would move from Ram Mandir to LAD square and back. But now we cover a route that includes Shankar Nagar, Bajaj Nagar, Laxmi Nagar and returns through Abhyankar Nagar and LAD square."
The procession in this area is known by the large number of welcome arches. The 7 ½ km route is dotted with about 60 such gates. Kolwadkar says it shows the enthusiasm of the people. "The concentration of all these arches is in the area between Laxmi Bhuvan Chowk and Coffee House. That's because the traders here have been associated with the event for decades and that's their way of participating in it," he adds.
And though shobha yatras have high visibility, Ram janam utsav is also marked by a high decibel celebration. The day sees kirtans being held in almost every temple of the city. Mrunmayee Kulkarni, a lecturer at Kirtan Mahavidyalay, says that celebrating Ram Navami with kirtans has been an age old tradition in Maharashtra. "Starting at 10 in the morning till 12 noon, which is the time when Ram was born, kirtankaars sing excerpts from Ramayan along with narrating episodes that led to birth of Ram."
The period between Gudi Padwa up to Hanuman Jayanti has kirtans being held in city temples. "The motive behind these is to connect with younger generation and give them an idea about their spiritual heritage. Over the years, the number of youth attending these sessions has been increasing," says Kulkarni.