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the dondi ritual, kalighat, kolkata

Dondi @ Kalighat, Kolkata 2015

 

Dondi is a Hindu religious rite or ritual, an act of penance and worship to the Goddess Shitala to keep diseases at bay and keep her family healthy

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitala

It is performed mainly in Kolkata and Bengal, that I’m aware of & at quite a few locations. This particular event is held annually at Kalighat Kali temple area in the peak of summer. Devotees prostrate themselves on the bare ground in prayer, then get up to walk a few steps before prostrating all over again. The journey starts with a dip at the Ganga river banks in Kalighat and terminates about a kilometer away with a fire ritual

Most participants are women and children, with the odd men thrown in

Water is liberally strewn out onto the streets, by water tankers, volunteers and well wishers - by buckets on to the streets and participating devotees just to make this event possible

In a nutshell, www.joydeepmukherjee.com/gallery.php?id=NzE=

 

The golden rule if you wish to get into the thick of things is to get your foot wear off

needless to say my footwear came off very early on

first time i was witnessing this event, so i did not know the rules or the tricks

next up, is to save your gear from all the splashing water

 

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Uploaded on May 27, 2015
Taken on April 25, 2015