Pimpri: The saffron flag, the beat of the mridangam, and the chants of Jnanoba and Tukoba echoed through the Pimpri-Chinchwad area on Monday as the palkhi of Sant Tukaram Maharaj made its way to Pune with the procession of the devotees.
Sant Tukaram Maharaj's palkhi had entered the industrial city on Sunday evening. The second stop was at the Vitthal Rakhumai temple in Akurdi. There was a night-long kirtan.
The people of Pimpri-Chinchwad paid their respects to the palkhi with devotion. Citizens had stopped on the old Mumbai-Pune highway since morning to catch a glimpse of the palkhi
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On Monday morning, a grand puja was held at the temple in the presence of Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansthan's president, Purushottam Maharaj More. Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh and his wife Isha Singh performed the paduka puja. Aarti was performed. After that, the procession made its way to Pune.
The palkhi stopped at the Khandoba Mal Chowk on the Mumbai-Pune highway and then proceeded to the Vitthal temple in Kharaalwadi for a midday break. The procession also stopped at Dapodi. After taking a break in the afternoon, it entered Pune via the Harris Bridge. Devotees paid their respects along the way.
