<p>Come September each year, the area around Shivajinagar becomes a wave of devout pilgrims, many of them clothed in shades of orange.<br /><br />They throng the narrow bylanes and fill the grounds in and around St Mary’s <br />Basilica in a show of devotion that is both colourful and fascinating.<br /><br /> Families making their precarious way into the church, children clad in their festive best offering floral tributes, vendors hawking their wares to the hungry and thirsty <br />pilgrims and blank faced security personnel all melt together in a sea of humanity which ebbs and flows for nine days. <br /><br />Lighted candles cast a glow on earnest faces praying to the flower bedecked statue of the Virgin Mary. <br /><br />The church itself stands calmly silhouetted against the cloudy monsoon sky while the frenzied activity below carries on regardless. <br /><br />A mix of commerce and devotion — so typical of Indian festivals everywhere.</p>
<p>Come September each year, the area around Shivajinagar becomes a wave of devout pilgrims, many of them clothed in shades of orange.<br /><br />They throng the narrow bylanes and fill the grounds in and around St Mary’s <br />Basilica in a show of devotion that is both colourful and fascinating.<br /><br /> Families making their precarious way into the church, children clad in their festive best offering floral tributes, vendors hawking their wares to the hungry and thirsty <br />pilgrims and blank faced security personnel all melt together in a sea of humanity which ebbs and flows for nine days. <br /><br />Lighted candles cast a glow on earnest faces praying to the flower bedecked statue of the Virgin Mary. <br /><br />The church itself stands calmly silhouetted against the cloudy monsoon sky while the frenzied activity below carries on regardless. <br /><br />A mix of commerce and devotion — so typical of Indian festivals everywhere.</p>
