SHILLONG: Large number of faithful followers from different communities braved the wind on Sunday morning to participate in a multicultural foot procession on the holy occasion of the three day festival of ‘Maghi Purnima’, the 121st birth anniversary of Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavananda Maharaj, founder, Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS), a worldwide philanthropic and charitable organization and the yearlong centenary celebration of BSS (1917-2016).
Three different tableaus of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Swami Pranavananda Maharaj led the march as the most common response received from all is that they have never seen such a big procession earlier.
The characteristic of the procession was its ‘neatness’ and ‘punctuality’ besides participation from a cross cultural milieu, among whom were also few local tribals and numerous students, holding placards, saffron flags, banners and other fliers related to the occasion. The devotees marched snaking through the major parts of the city without disturbing the flow of traffic.
Volunteers from BSS not only maintained the procession flow but also helped in traffic movement in order to avoid any congestion. The devotees were offered water, cool drinks, chocolates and biscuits during the course of the parade whereas the volunteers along with the monks of BSS maintained cleanliness along the path by collecting the wastes and stock them in a carrier meant for the purpose. Following the procession, around one thousand five hundred blankets were distributed to the economically weaker section of the society by former IPS officer BK Dey Sawain, Senior Advocate, SR Sen and former IAS officer, PC Chakraborty with the monks of BSS.
