These days a common sight of people carrying multi colored flags, travelling on foot or bicycle around the city is adding joy of festivity. In midst of curiosity when I approached them, It was raining and villagers from Madhya Pradesh were sitting and enjoying hot cup of tea in their Ram Rasoda( kitchen of Ramdevji). They all were excited and were singing verses of Baba Ramdevji(local deity), to please him.

After travelling for 3 consecutive days, these enthusiastic believers are prepared to cover 650 KM ahead, towards their destination i.e. Ramdevra (near Jodhpur, 12KM from Pokharan) in coming 10 days. Hundreds and thousands of devotees throng to the fair from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and other nearby states to pay their homage to him, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

A fair is organized on the death anniversary of Baba Ramdev, a venerated saint, respected by both Hindus and Muslims. Baba Ramdevji is considered to be one of the 14 incarnations of lord. Baba stood for equality of all human beings and helped the downtrodden.

This fair ends on the second Dooj from Rakhi (17 days from Rakhi). Night events are organized during the fair where ‘bhajans’ and ‘kirtans’ (verses) of Baba are sung.

Except some cash and cloths these devotees carry nothing else with them. For food and shelter they are entirely dependent on these Ramrasodas, which are kitchen and shelters arranged by local villagers for these disciples. Villagers contribute their share and make arrangements for these amenities. Preparations are done keeping estimate of minimum people. There are camps where one can find around 2000 visitors per day.

Relevance of this journey in this particular month is that farmers are free after sowing and irrigating their fields in this time of year. So it is most appropriate term for devotion towards God, without spoiling their business.

This fair is epitome of devotion towards God, bonding between two religions and human nature of giving & rejoicing. It can lead towards extremities of sacrifice which in turn can establish a secular and dutiful society. I Hope, these devotees of Baba Ramdevji will preach his message of truth and equality in and around the world.