Elephants, horses and costumed spirits join the baraat; Shiva-Parvati wedding staged on a modern hydraulic platform
Pratapgarh: A grand procession celebrating the divine wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati was taken out from Gopal Temple in Pratapgarh on Sunday under the aegis of the Shri Ramlila Samiti. The colourful Shiv Baraat featured participants dressed as spirits, deities and kings, alongside elephants, horses and thousands of devotees and residents who joined the celebrations.
The procession began at Gopal Temple and passed through Bharat Chowk, Bhagwa Chungi, Chowk and Chilbila Hanuman Temple before reaching the Chilbila Station intersection. Devotees welcomed the procession at several points along the route, performed aarti and arranged refreshments for participants. Groups of women added to the festive atmosphere with traditional songs and dances.
The highlight of the evening was the ceremonial wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, staged on a modern hydraulic platform at the Chilbila Station intersection.
The event began with aarti performed jointly by committee patrons Roshanlal Umarvaishya, Ravi Agrawal and Shyam Shankar Singh, along with president Sanjay Khandelwal, convener Dinesh Pratap Singh Dinnu, secretary Vipin Gupta and treasurer Manish Gupta.
Sadar MLA Rajendra Maurya, BJP district president Ashish Srivastava, department organiser Omprakash, Vishal Vikram Singh, Jai Narayan Agrawal, Suresh Agrawal, Praveen Krishna, Rai Saheb Singh, Omprakash Tripathi, Hariom Mishra, Vinay Pratap Singh Babbu, Rajiv Pratap Singh Nandan, Dinesh Kumar Gupta and Shyam Ji Jaiswal were among those who attended.
Women participants, including Archana Khandelwal, Beena Kesarwani, Archana Gupta, Vandana Gupta, Poonam Gupta, Shweta Jaiswal and Khushi Gupta, also played an active role in the procession.
Elaborate security and traffic arrangements were made to ensure the smooth conduct of the religious celebration.
