Vitthala

WHO IS A HINDU? Gods who remove suffering Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Once upon a time, Vishnu came looking for his wife, Lakshmi, who left their house after a fight. During his search, he took residence in a termite hill under a tamarind tree. A cowherd came and gave him milk there. So he made that place his home, comforting devotees, assuring them that he will not let them drown in the ‘ocean of existence’. Where is this story from? If you are from Andhra or Tamil Nadu, you are likely to say, Tirupati Balaji of Venkatachalam. If you’re from Maharashtra ..

Published on 20th March, 2016, in the Mumbai Mirror. Pandharpur is the centre of a bhakti movement that began over eight centuries ago, and gave birth to Marathi literature. For centuries, every year, just before the rains, thousands of pilgrims known as Varkari, followers of Haripath (path of God who is Krishna-Vishnu) travel long distances from rural Maharashtra and Karnataka to Pandharpur. Known as Dindi, this pilgrimage is a sight to behold, with long lines of fluttering flags against the summer sky, majestic flower-bedecked bullock carts and palanquins, men dressed in white, anointed with sandal paste, wearing strings of tulsi beads, carrying lutes and cymbals, ..