The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Mary’s Novena gets under way

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Thursday, Aug 30, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Mary’s Novena gets under way

Staff Reporter

Rain plays spoil sport as devotees are forced to put up with flooded roads

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

A SEA OF HUMANITY: Devotees pray at St. Mary’s Basilica in Bangalore on Wednesday when the flag hoisting for St. Mary’s Feast was performed.

Bangalore: As the sun set on the city on Wednesday, about 50,000 people attired in bright saffron clothes assembled at the 315-years-old Mary’s Basilica. It was the first day of the Novena (nine-day prayer) that precedes the St. Mary’s Feast on September 8.

The graffiti on the white basilica wall facing the Shivajinagar scrap market had crescent shaped moons, om symbols as well as crosses scribbled on it with blue paint. Living up to its reputation as a point of convergence for people from all faiths, the basilica saw Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in addition to Christians thronging it this time around as well.

The marriage of Srinivasan (36) and Nancy (31) was a point in case.

“Although I am a Hindu, I have been coming to the basilica since I was a little boy…this is where I met Nancy who is a Christian…we fell in love…today we are happily married with three lovely children,” says Srinivasan. Nancy says theirs was a marriage without any opposition from their families.

Abdul Razzack (60), who runs a hotel in Shivajinagar, seemed irked when he was asked by some journalists about the purpose of his visit to the shrine. “I am here to offer prayers like everybody else. What is so strange?” he asked. “I was intrigued by the number of devotees this place draws. There must be something about this place I thought. I have been coming here for 40 years. I go to the mosque as well.”

The rain that battered the city throughout the day apparently acted as a propellant for the crowds who kept pouring in. Streams of people heading towards the shrine could be seen as far away as Vasanthnagar, Johnson Market and Fraser Town.

The infrastructure in the areas surrounding Shivajinagar crumbled under the onslaught of people and the weather gods.

Drains and sewers overflowed and created swarming pools of squalor even as the devotees negotiated a path through the filth.

Traffic was thrown out of gear and the ripple effect of the traffic chaos in Shivajinagar could be seen as far away as M.G. Road and even Richmond Road. As the crowds took over the Shivajinagar Bus Station, many bus drivers took to narrow bylanes and navigated through residential areas.

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