M Aamir Khan
Srinagar: Temples in the Kashmir valley witnessed a decent rush of tourists and Kashmiri Pandits on the festive occasion of Mahanavmi.
While a ‘havan’ and pooja were performed on the last day of Navratri marking Mahanavmi, devotees said they prayed for maintenance of peace and communal harmony in the Valley. “We performed havan today after nine days of pooja.
A ‘Bhandara was also held and this is my first visit to Kashmir. We prayed for peace and happiness. I feel more tourists should come to Kashmir,” said Geetika from Orissa after pooja at the Durga Naag Temple, Sonwar. Srinagar district president of the Amarnathji Welfare Society, Nanaji Dembi said they prayed for maintenance of communal harmony in the Valley.
“Today was the last day of Navratri and we prayed for maintenance of peace. We also prayed for unity among Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities so that our brotherhood is not disturbed,” he said. Even as prayers were held at other temples too, the annual havan was not held at the Shri Ramji Mandir, Barbar Shah.
“We did not hold the havan this year as the situation was tense during the past few days and several local Kashmir Pandits preferred to pray at their homes,” said a local Pandit. However, Kaira Kapoor from Orissa, said they were moving around freely and felt safe during their visit to Kashmir.
“Today we performed Durga pooja and I feel people should come here with their families. People here are very friendly and we moved around freely. We had no problems and Kashmir is totally safe for you to come with your families,” she said.
