The Pandharpur Wari 2014 Experience

India, during most of her glorious past, was a faith driven country.And out of the many faith based traditions being passed down for generations, the annual pilgrimage undertaken by the Warkari clan of Maharashtra is one of the most awe-inspiring ones. Watching thousands of devotees from every corner of the state walk together as one towards a focused spiritual destination was a privileged sight.

We, the students of Symbiosis MBA HHM 14-16, had the honour to serve

this community over the weekend. After dividing into 4 teams, each team headed towards their location with minds full of self-doubts for no one had done this kind of work before. Team 1 was allocated the location of Vishrantwadi-RTO for day 1 and Vitthal Mandir, Nana Peth for day 2. Initially no one was quite sure what needs to be done as individual roles were not clear to anyone. All we knew was we need to manage the crowd. Team 1 was the first team  enroute of the warkaris who were heading towards Pandharpur. However the swarming humanity was  overwhelming.!! 

But under the expert guidance of the medical officer in charge of the location, our team leader and with assistance of the already present EMS batch everyone was soon aware of what needs to be done. Quickly team divided into 3. One brought into order the crowd milling around the doctors who were administering topicalpain killers. Second and third team brought into control the crowd which were receiving medication from the doctors. Language barrier was soon overcome by crude but highly effective sign language assisted with few marathi words. Soon it was a question of how long the energy lasts. The food committee made sure we have full stomachs. Surely they knew that their army cant work on empty stomachs.!! By 5pm, everyone was exhausted.

Next day dawned with some sore muscles for company. However the experience of previous day was satisfying and the team was looking

forward to another day of community service. The arrangements at

second location were lot better. While on day 1 the team was standing

for most part of the day, this location had comfortable seating

arrangements. The comfort reflected in the spike in number of patients

that were attended on day 2 as compared to day 1. The service had to

be stopped not because we were tired but because we were exhausted

with medicines for the day. Overall it has been a soul satisfying

experience and every bit worth the tiredness everyone had to endure,

knowing that we have served around 5000 patients in just two days.

Most of the pilgrims complained about Joint pains, eye infections,

nausea n vomiting, small wounds and general weakness and were provided

with analgesics,anti inflammatory agents,anti emetics,anti allergics and oral rehydration therapy. Drssings were also done for the patients.

Sea of humanity thronging towards Vitthal-Rukamani takes along

with them our collective reverence for the all presiding deity and the

confidence that every time they start walking again, year after year,

they would find Symbians waiting along the way to serve them whole heartedly!! 

Ms. Sukhada Joshi

MBA HHM Batch 14-16