VASCO
The 123rd Shree Damodar Bhajani Saptah commenced on Saturday afternoon with the offering of a ‘Shreefal’ at Shree Damodar temple by Prashant Joshi amidst the holy chants chants.
However, for the second time in a row, the much awaited festival was a low-key affair due to the prevailing Covid pandemic.
While the traditional rituals and Shreefal offering was carried out by the Joshi family, the temple was made inaccessible to the general public except a few committee members and Joshi family members. The rituals at the temple were streamed online by the temple committee for the benefit of thousands of devotees.
While the area around the temple was covered with corrugated sheets, a huge number of devotees were seen outside the temple to seek the blessings of Lord Damodar and some even got emotional as they were not able to enter the temple while the rituals were being performed.
Low key affair though, entire temple has been attractively decorated for the occasion.
The first set of Bhajan was performed after the Shreefal was placed at the idol of Lord Damodar to start the 24-hour non-stop devotional singing in the temple during the festival.
A strong posse of police force was present outside the temple to maintain the law and order situation.
The 24-hour Damodar Bhajani Saptah will conclude on Sunday with previous year’s Shreefal offering to the sea at Kharewado.
Prashant Joshi of the Joshi family said that there should be no misunderstanding over not allowing from entering the temple. This was due to safety measures adopted as a result of the virus threat, he said.
People must understand and support our committee as the present situation is critical and while we understand the sentiments of the people have been hurt, we must also remember that the city has had a Covid outbreak and the mass gathering of people cannot be allowed in such circumstances and the festival should not be a reason for spread of the virus.
However all arrangements have been done to ensure streaming live the Saptah festival so that people can offer their prayers while they are at home. We hope that the the Covid situation ends soon and the festival is celebrated like before,” said Joshi.
Saptah committee member Santosh Khorjuvekar said “We managed to arrange live telecast on virtual platforms and request the devotees to cooperate with us for the decision taken (no temple entry) in the larger interest of public safety.”
Like most festivals and auspicious events, this festival too has a story behind since its inception.
According to information, plague epidemic struck Vasco city in 1889 and with poor health facilities, locals turned to Lord Damodar, and went to Zambaulim temple and brought a coconut (Shreefal) to be placed for worship in Vasco. Miracle, as it may be called, Vasco was free from the epidemic, leading to even stronger reverence for Lord Damodar, and since then every year on the 6th Day of Shravan month, Saptah has been celebrated in Vasco.
