Jail no bar to devotion| UP jail reverberates with holy chants as inmates carry out Kanwar Yatra

Lucknow: The jail premises in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district reverberated with the chants of "Har Har Mahadev" on the second Monday of the Hindu month of Sawan as hundreds of inmates of the district jail undertook kanwar yatra inside the premises.

According to the senior jail superintendent Mijaji Lal, the jail administration had provided the kanwar (pitchers carrying the sacred Ganga waters to be offered at the Shiva temples) to the prisoners.

He said that more than 200 male and 30 women prisoners were observed fast in accordance with the Hindu traditions.

Lal said that the prisoners had been making preparations to undertake the Kanwar Yatra inside the premises for the past several days.

‘’They themselves made all the preparations. We provided the Ganga waters brought from the Panchal Ghat in Farrukhabad district…other items like flowers, bael, dhatura (jimson weed),’’ he said.

2 inmates dressed as Lord Shiva, consort Parvati

Two inmates were dressed as Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. The inmates carrying the kanwars went around the jail premises and later offered the sacred Ganga waters at the Shiva temple inside Barrack number 11.

The inmates also performed puja in the temple on this occasion. The atmosphere inside the jail was joyous as the inmates chanted "Har Har Mahadev."

Lal said that the objective behind the Kanwar Yatra was to enable the inmates to follow their age-old traditions. ‘’It also helps cleanse their soul,’’ he said.

Millions of devotees were undertaking the Kanwar Yatra in different parts of UP and the neighboring state of Uttarakhand.