Bhuj's Maninagar Gadi Sansthan to celebrate 50 years

 Feb 27, 2012,

The Maninagar Gadi Sansthan, a swaminaryan sect which has its roots in Kutch has decided to celebrate the golden jubilee of its Darbargadh temple in Bhuj in a big way this April. The temple organisers expect huge participation from lakhs of its devotees in the Patel community (locally known as Kanbi) and other non-Patel communities like Lohana and Bhatia from home and abroad.

''Our Bhuj-based temple is also a big educational institute which houses modern facilities along with hostels for students. Since this institute is also completing 50 years of existence, it will therefore be a huge double celebration. The institute was set up five decades ago by great visionary saint Mukatjivan bapa who had himself studied in English medium and whose father, was a British government servant, disclosed Mahant Bhagwatipriyadasji, second in command at the Gadi Sansthan.

"The April celebrations would comprise a big yagna as well as plans to give school buses worth Rs50 lakh to various schools in the district. The celebrations would be attended by our devotees in UK and East Africa. Top Kenyan politicians and social leaders including key ministers from the Kenyan government are likely to attend the celebrations, he said.

Incidentally it was Muktjivan Bapa who had advised the Indian communities to leave Uganda for UK when he sensed trouble for the community there and other African countries. He had also asked Kutchis to settle in Karachi in undivided India and as a result there was huge Swaminaryan temple opposite the Karachi municipal corporation building having hundreds of devotees flocking to the temple every day.

Modi orders probe into Junagadh stampede

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked Additional Chief Secretary Varun Mayera to set up a high-level committee to probe the stampede near the Bhavnath Shiva temple in Junagadh on Sunday. Seven persons were killed and over 40 injured in the incident.

A spokesman of the Chief Minister's Office said here that the committee would also suggest measures to prevent such incidents.

Mr. Modi announced an immediate relief of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and Rs. 25,000 to each of the injured. Inspector-General of Police (Rajkot Range) Pravin Sinha rushed to Junagadh to maintain law and order in view of the Mahashivratri festival on Monday. “The situation on Monday is totally under control,” the spokesman said.

Agriculture and Co-operative Minister Dillip Sanghani visited the tragedy site and called on the injured in hospitals and family members of the deceased.

Various “Akhadas” of sadhus and saints assembled in the ancient temple decided to celebrate Mahashivratri with simplicity and not to take out the traditional procession through the town in view of the tragedy. Only a token procession was taken out from the Bhavnath temple.

The head priests of various “Akhadas” also called on the injured in various hospitals in Junagadh.

The Akhil Bharatiya Sadhu Samaj, the main organiser of the five-day fair at the temple for Mahashivratri, also announced a token assistance of Rs. 11,000 each to the deceased and Rs. 5,000 to the injured.

On Monday, one more person succumbed to the injuries at a Junagadh hospital taking the death toll in the stampede to seven. Six people were declared “brought dead” on Sunday.

The police believe the cause of the stampede to be a rumour that the brakes of a four-wheeler had failed in the jam-packed narrow Panj Naka bridge, the lone entrance to the temple with over 1.50 lakh pilgrims jostling with each other.

State Congress president Arjun Moadhwadia held the “inadequate security arrangements” at the traditional temple, where lakhs of devotees turn up for Mahashivratri, responsible for the incident. He also demanded a judicial probe and urged the State government to raise the immediate relief to the family members of the deceased to at least Rs. five lakh each and to the injured to Rs 50,000.

Saurashtra - The Land of Thousand Kingdoms

Saurashtra, as the name suggests, is indeed a region of one hundred kingdoms. It is indeed one of the most picturesque regions in Gujarat. Due to the princely history, its rich in antiquity and abundant in wealth. Well sculptured temples, forts, mosques and glittering palaces...all remind us of the glorious past. Their love for colour and artistry has touched every aspect of their lifestyle, and the handicrafts of the region enjoy the patronage of all the states of India. When I got an opportunity to visit this place, I just grabbed it. My father's sister and her husband were planning a tour to this side and they suggested that, it would be fun if we joined them. One more couple (their family friends) was also coming with them. The more, the merrier. The best part was that they were going to do the entire booking through Gujarat Tourism. If there is a small group of 6 or so, the tourism dept arranges for a vehicle like qualis, with a knowledgeable driver. Residence and food arrangement is made at their own hotels/restaurants. What more do you want ? Our whole group agreed on the point that we did not want fancy hotels as we would be spending hardly any time at the hotel. I made a quick survey of the spots they were covering and found it quite satisfactory. There was not going to be any night driving.

Our first travel was from Pune to Baroda. We were going to stay there for a couple of days. It was diwali time, so we packed lot of chaklis, karanjis, ladoos, and other varieties for our tour. The morning of our departure dawned and we were all ready at the doorstep. The family friends were also there in time and within minutes, we were on our way to Rajkot. There was a lot of travel anticipated on the first day itself. After this long journey, the other destinations were nearby.

Porbandar - Porbandar is not much of tourist significance. But it is of historical importance due to through its association with Mahatma Gandhi who was born here. The home of Gandhi's childhood is now open to visitors. Another reason why it is famous is that it is believed to be originally the Sudama Puri, the place where Shri Krishna's closest friend, Sudama lived. There is a temple dedicated to Sudama here. We visited the Sudama temple first.