PUNE, INDIA, June 26, 2011: Over 10,000 warkaris from the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are attending the wari this year. Some have been a part of this centuries-old tradition of Maharashtra for the last several years by studying the works of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar, and encouraging their friends and family to be a part of the annual procession.
Of the total 300,000 Warkaries participating in the Palkhi processions this year, more than 50,000 are female. These women have flocked from lands far and wide across the state. Mangalatai Kamble, Founder and President of the Bahinabai Mahila Dindi, observed that a large number of women and young girls had joined the Palkhi this year, most of whom were educated, working women.
The wari embodies the essence of bhakti and teaches you to be happy amid tough circumstances, says another warkari from Chennai. “I cherish the simplicity of the warkaris who never complain about anything. I’ve stayed at Pandharpur and enjoyed the late night ‘jagran bhajans,” says the warkari, who visits Pandharpur once a month.
[HPI note from Wikipedia: Pilgrimage to Pandhapur — Every year the warkari walk hundreds of miles to the holy town of Pandharpur, gathering there on ekadashi (the 11th day) of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Aashaadha (which falls sometime in July). Warkaris making the pilgrimage to Pandharpur carry the palkhis (palanquins) of the sants from their places of samadhi (enlightenment or “spiritual birth”). According to historians Vitthal devotees were holding pilgrimages prior to the 13th century.]