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