Divine Duties

Dawn.com Published May 30, 2012
A Hindu priest distributes 'prasad' to Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
A Hindu priest distributes 'prasad' to Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
A Hindu priest applies a religious mark on the forehead of an Indian Kashmiri Hindu (Pandit) devotee during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
A Hindu priest applies a religious mark on the forehead of an Indian Kashmiri Hindu (Pandit) devotee during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
A Kashmiri Hindu devotee chants hymns as she offers prayers during an annual Hindu festival at the Kheer Bhawani Temple at TullaMulla, northeast of Srinagar. ? Photo by AP
A Kashmiri Hindu devotee chants hymns as she offers prayers during an annual Hindu festival at the Kheer Bhawani Temple at TullaMulla, northeast of Srinagar. ? Photo by AP
A Kashmiri Hindu devotee is in trance as she offers prayers during an annual Hindu festival at the Kheer Bhawani Temple at TullaMulla, northeast of Srinagar. ? Photo by AP
A Kashmiri Hindu devotee is in trance as she offers prayers during an annual Hindu festival at the Kheer Bhawani Temple at TullaMulla, northeast of Srinagar. ? Photo by AP
A priest, left, collects an offering from a devotee as Kashmiri Pandits perform rituals at the Kheer Bhawani temple during an annual Hindu festival. ? Photo by AP
A priest, left, collects an offering from a devotee as Kashmiri Pandits perform rituals at the Kheer Bhawani temple during an annual Hindu festival. ? Photo by AP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP
Indian Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) light candles during the annual Hindu festival at the Khearbhawani temple in Tullamulla village, some 30 kms east of Srinagar. ? Photo by AFP

Thousands of Kashmiri Hindus, many of whom were displaced 20 years ago, attended the festival in order to worship the Hindu goddess Mata Khirbhawani on the day of her birth.  Some 200,000 Kashmiri Pandits fled the region in the early nineties at the start of an insurgency against Indian rule mainly to the Hindu-dominated southern city of Jammu and they return yearly for the festival.

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