Sri Hanuman Temple in Chilbila celebrates 135 years of Krishna birth festival tradition

A 135-year-old tradition marking Lord Krishna's birth festival was celebrated with devotion and grandeur at the Sri Hanuman Temple in Chilbila, Pratapgarh. The barhi celebration, a special observance of Lord Krishna's birth anniversary, was marked by the offering of chhappan bhog, fifty-six varieties of dishes, to the deity, continuing a ritual that has been faithfully maintained for more than a century.

Roshanlal Umarvaishya, general secretary of the temple committee and social worker, led the elaborate religious ceremonies. He performed the formal worship and aarti of Lord Krishna, Hanuman Ji Maharaj, Mata Ji, Ram Darbar and Lord Bholenath. The temple premises had been decorated attractively for the grand occasion, drawing devotees throughout the day.

Following the worship rituals, a formal Brahmin poojan was conducted and the priests were served a special meal. Devotees donated clothes to the Brahmins and received their blessings in return. After these ceremonies, a massive community feast or bhandara was inaugurated, which saw large numbers of devotees partaking of the prasad.

Roshanlal Umarvaishya emphasized the historical significance of the event, stating that the tradition of organizing a bhandara on the barhi celebration of Lord Krishna's birth at the Hanuman Temple in Chilbila has been continuing for approximately 135 years. He noted that this religious tradition, passed down through generations, is still being observed with complete devotion and enthusiasm.

The celebration witnessed enthusiastic participation from women devotees who sang mangalgeet and sohar, traditional auspicious songs, to mark the joyous occasion of Lord Krishna's birth. The ritual of feeding butter to Kanha was also performed, completing the traditional barhi ceremony. Devotees kept streaming into the temple premises throughout the day.

Suraj Umarvaishya, who was in charge of the bhandara arrangements, managed the operations along with his team of volunteers. A large number of Hanuman devotees contributed to making the event successful, including Suresh Agarwal, Ramgopal, Vivek Umarvaishya, Santosh Kumar, Chhediilal, Devanand, Pullu, Rakesh Baniya, Shani Maharaj, Sonu Maharaj, Ashok Light, Nanka, Shubham, Sachin, Manish, Aman Gupta, Shyam Babu, Amit, Ravi Gupta, Deepu, Vipin, Sunny Gupta, Suresh Pandey Netaji, Vivek Yadav, Rajkumar and Raju Mahuli, among many others who extended their cooperation.