Devotion surges as Ambubachi Mela ends at Kamakhya

Thousands of devotees queued up in front of the main door of Kamakhya Temple which opened after the five-day Ambabuchi Mela came to an end. Since morning, lakhs of visitors from every corner of the globe were seen waiting for their turn to have a glimpse of goddess Kamakhya braving rains. The temple door was thrown open at 6.45 am. The door was closed from June 22 to June 26 in accordance with the rituals of Ambubachi Mela. The fair is the most important mela celebrated at Kamakhya Temple. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the temple, Devi Kamakhya, goes through her annual cycle of menstruation during this time. This year, some 13 lakh visitors from across the globe attended the fair. On Sunday, about 30, 000 people offered their prayers to the goddess. "We have even avoided the afternoon break of one hour so that the visitors can have a glimpse of the goddess without any delay. This will continue till June 28 as there is a huge rush of people during this period," said Riju Sarma, the administrator Kamakhya Temple Debutter Board. "I have come all the way from Tamil Nadu to have this wonderful experience. I always wanted to come here. This is amazing here to see such a huge crowd and I felt highly spiritual," said Usman Ali, a businessman from Chennai.

Irine, a researcher from Holland, reached the temple premises last week and witnessed the entire festival. "I learnt a lot after coming here. I am presently doing my research on Hinduism and this fair is one of the main attractions of my studies. I will come here again," she said. She asked the state government to take up initiatives to promote this festival at a global platform. "There should be wide publicity of Ambubachi Mela. This is one lovely place for tourists and everyone should know about it," she added. The Ambubachi Mela is also known as Ameti or tantric fertility festival since it is closely associated with the Shakti cult prevalent in the eastern parts of India. Even some tantrics make public appearances only during these five days. The rest of the year, they remain in seclusion. Some sadhus are also seen displaying their psychic powers like standing on one leg for hours at a stretch. "The prasad is distributed in two forms - angodak and angabastra. Angodak literally means the fluid part of the body - water from the spring. Angabastra means a piece of red cloth used to cover the stone yoni during the days of menstruation," said N K Sarma, the secretary of Ambubachi Mela.

Source: TOI

4 lakh devotees visit Kamakhya temple

GUWAHATI, June 23 – Around four lakh devotees visited the Kamakhya temple on the first day of the Ambubachi mela, which started around last midnight to perform the “parikrama” round the Shakti seat.

According to publicity secretary of the Ambubachi Mahotshav Parichalana Samiti, Anup Prasad Sarma, the rush of the local people to the temple started at 8 pm yesterday and it has been continuing till this evening.

Meanwhile, devotees from various parts of the country and from abroad have arrived at the Nilachal hillock to take part in the celebration. They include hundreds of devotees from West Bengal and other parts of the country, three Australians, around 100 from Nepal, around 15 from Bhutan, four from Germany, two each from USA and France and one from Italy.

A Discovery Channel team, comprising two Indians and six from abroad, has also arrived at the Hillock to cover the festival.

The devotees from various parts of the country and abroad are performing the “parikrama” singing religious songs and are thus creating a festive atmosphere on the hillock.

Folk artiste teams comprising Bauls and Shyamasangeet artistes from West Bengal are also adding to the festive environment.

However, power failure in the camps, set up for sheltering the devotees near the Kamakhya Higher Secondary school and along the road leading to the Lalita Kanta temple, has created problems for the devotees as well as the local people. Moreover the road leading to the Lalita Kanta temple is also filled with filthy materials leading to the misery of the people.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has not taken much care to keep the road clean, alleged the local residents.

Source: Assam Tribune  

Security beefed up at Assam's Kamakhya temple for 'Ambubachi Mela'

Security has been tightened at the Kamakhya temple in Assam, where thousands of pilgrims are going to assemble during the upcoming four-day 'Ambubachi Mela'.  About 1.5 million devotees and tourists from across the globe are expected to visit the state for the festival, which will begin on June 22 and end on June 25.

With the recent discovery of a programmable timer device from the Kanchenjunga Express on June 17, police have made elaborate arrangements for the safety of the pilgrims who visit the temple.

The district administration has deployed police and paramilitary forces at the temple premises. 64 CCTV cameras have been installed at strategic points inside and outside the temple precincts.

The cameras would help the police to closely monitor the visitors and ensure their security. The strategically placed CCTV cameras would transmit live feeds, which will be monitored from the control room by the police.

"The Debutter board has installed 64 CCTV cameras and security officials as well as paramilitary forces have been posted in and around the temple premises. Scouts and guides have also agreed to volunteer during the festival, apart from the local volunteers that would be present. So, security arrangements have been beefed up from our side," said Nabapati Sharma, secretary of Kamakhya Debutter Board. Police patrolling has also been intensified to maintain law and order situation in and around the temple premises. More than 600 volunteers, including scouts, guides and National Cadet Corps cadets would be deployed to assist temple authorities to maintain order during the Ambubachi festival. The temple authorities have made adequate arrangement to accommodate the huge conglomeration of devotees, including their food.

Appropriate arrangements have been made for emergency services like fire and health too. Social groups have also stepped in to help in the supplies of food, shelter and management. "The number of devotees visiting this place is increasing each year. Considering the crowd this time, it seems that more than 1.5 million would be visiting the temple. Last year, around 1.3 million devotees came for the festival," said Deepak Choudhary, SSP, Guwahati.

The festival of Ambubachi, which normally falls on June 22, symbolizes earth or mother Kamakhya attaining fertility as she prepares herself to conceive.

Source: The Indian Express

Additional 51 cameras at Kamakhya

 As many as 64 electronic eyes will keep a close watch on devotees during the annual Ambubachi mela beginning at the Kamakhya temple on June 23. A police source said the closed-circuit television cameras would keep tabs on visitors and look out for troublemakers during the four-day religious congregation.  He said apart from 13 permanent CCTVs at the temple, 51 additional cameras would be installed at strategic points inside and outside the temple precincts for the mela. Lakhs of devotees from across the country will arrive at the ancient temple for the festival.

A source said the CCTVs would help police closely monitor the visitors and ensure their security. “The strategically-placed CCTV cameras would transmit live feeds which will be monitored from the control room to be set up by police for the festival.” He said police pickets would be posted atop Nilachal Hill and patrol would be intensified in and around the temple to avoid any law and order problem during the mela days. Policemen in plainclothes will also be deployed during the festival.

The mela will commence on the night of June 22 when the temple doors will be closed to devotees. It will conclude on June 26 when the temple doors will reopen and more than one lakh devotees are expected to enter the sanctum sanctorum for darshan.
The source said adequate number policemen and CRPF personnel besides policemen in civvies would be deployed and any person who would arouse suspicion would be frisked.

Hectic preparations are on at the temple for the festival as the district administration and temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the convenience of the devotees. Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner J. Balaji, additional deputy commissioner Mrinal Gogoi, chief engineer of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, T. Rahman, and the officer-in-charge of Jalukbari police station, Kamal Rajbongshi, today visited the temple and took stock of the preparations.
Around 200 cleaners and sweepers will be engaged and the GMC will provide three garbage disposal trucks to maintain cleanliness on the temple premises from June 19 to 28. More than 600 volunteers, including scouts, guides and NCC cadets will be deployed to assist temple authorities to maintain order during the mela.
The source said arrangements for 16 special buses and 60 taxis would be made to ferry pilgrims.  The source said 200 temporary toilets would be constructed and 250 drinking water taps set up for the devotees. “Moreover, sufficient number of floodlights and streetlights will be installed in and around the temple and on the road leading to the temple from the foothills,” he added.

Famous Ambubachi Mela in Kamakhya, Guwahati



Source: http://www.religiousportal.com/index.html

Ambubachi Mela, also known as Ambubasi festival, is held annually during monsoon in the Kamakhya Devi Temple at Guwahati, Assam. In 2010, the beginning date of Ambubachi Mela is June 22nd and the festival ends on June 26. The Ambubachi festival is closely related to the Tantric cult and is also known as Kamkhya Devi Puja. It is believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her menstrual cycle during these days and therefore the temple remains closed for three days. Ambubachi Mela is also known as Ameti or Tantric fertility festival and is a four-day mela (fair).

It is widely believed that Goddess Kamakhya goes through her yearly menstrual cycle during the Ambubachi days. The temple remains closed for three days – the menstruation period.

People in large numbers wait outside the temple on the fourth day, when the temple will be opened. Sanyasins and Pandas from around the country assemble at the Kamakhya temple during this period.

Large number of devotees make a mad rush when the temple reopens to receive the unique ‘prasad’ which is small bits of cloth, which is supposedly moist with the menstrual fluid of Goddess Kamakhya. It is considered highly auspicious and powerful.