VADODARA: Every year during the holy month of Shravan, this Hanuman temple in Tarsali reverberates with chants of
Hanuman Chalisa and mantras recited by the devotees.
But this Saturday, paeans for 'pavan putra' will be sung in the form of melodious qawwalis by a group of Muslims. The temple trust invited qawwals to celebrate the last Saturday of Shravan with their rendition.
President of Shri Maruti Mandal, Rakesh Patel, who took the initiative, said that they want to spread the idea of communal harmony in the society. "If we look around, people are fighting with each other over communal and caste issues. We fight over different gods but when has god differentiated among his devotees?" said Patel, who is popularly known as 'Bhagyabhai' in Tarsali.
Temple a symbol of communal harmony
When asked if anyone objected to organizing a qawwali in the premises, Patel said that the temple trust members supported his decision. The qawwali will be sung for nearly two hours.
This temple located by a lakeside has nearly 3,000 members of which 500 are Muslims. Both Hindus and Muslims pray at the temple every Saturday and donate generously to the trust. Muslims too participate in chanting Hanuman Chalisa here.
“Muslim qawwals have been invited to perform this Saturday in presence of Hindu devotees who too will join the celebration. We will all pray to together,” Patel told TOI.
The group of qawwals from Padra and Jambusar who will sing devotional songs in the form of qawwali. “When they sing the praise of Khwaja, I am sure that the prayers will reach the God who is one. Thousands of devotees will turn up to attend the event,” he added.
File photo of Muslims taking part in bhajan at Tarsali temple
