India’s only conch blowers’ group to perform at Poddareshwar Shobhayatra

Nagpur: The iconic Shri Ram Janmotsava Shobhayatra, taken out by 100-year-old Poddareshwar Ram Mandir, will resume this year after three years of gap due to the pandemic.
Apart from the 80+ tableaux made by prominent city organisations, a one of its kind conch group in which nearly 500 men and women of all age groups will play ‘shankha’ will be a special attraction of this year’s shobhayatra.
Members of ‘Shri Panchajanya Shriram Sevak Shankh Dal’ (conch group) are busy in rehearsals for almost a month now. Interestingly, this group is first and the only group of conch blowers who perform eight different types of tunes from the conch. The group is formed in Nagpur and all members are from the city.
“Ours is the first of its kind shankh group in the country. Blowing conch has religious importance as well as health benefits. We want to re-establish conch as a musical instrument,” said Suraj Ghumare, founder of the group.
The group was formed seven years ago with less than 50 members, mostly youths. At present, they have 500 members. “Apart from all age-groups, we have members from diverse professions – right from students to IT engineers and doctors. We perform very rarely, but practice regularly,” Ghumare said.
Members enjoy blowing conch as it is a challenging task. “It’s difficult than any other instrument. But, it gives a great sense of achievement,” said Nachiket Wankar, a member of the group.
They also claimed that none of the members had Covid-19 during any of the waves in the last three years, just because their lungs have become strong due to conch blowing.
“This year, all participant groups who present tableaux have submitted bigger and more colourful entries. The Shobhayatra is very meticulously planned event and we are expecting who’s who of Nagpur along with the common citizens to participate,” said Punit Poddar, managing trustee.