Kamakhya temple gears up for its grand show

Several thousand devotees, including tantrics and sadhus from different parts of the country as well as from Nepal, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries have already started arriving at the ancient Shakti temple, which is also considered the most important centre for the study of tantra in the world.

‘‘We are expecting over 70,000 devotees during the four days of the Abubachi mela,’’ said Rajiv Sharma, secretary of the Kamakhya Temple Trust. Sharma said it was a challenging task managing such a huge number of people in the small temple township atop the Nilachal Hills, with limited number of toilets causing the biggest problem.

‘‘The problem of drinking water, which was acute till last year has slightly eased this year,’’ Sharma said, while the Kamrup district administration has roped in several NGOs to provide voluntary services during the next one week to maintain order as well as cleanliness in the temple premises. The district authorities meanwhile have banned supply of cooked food by voluntary organisations to devotees who remain in the temple complex during the four days of the mela.

According to legends, the temple of Kamakhya came into existence at a spot where the ‘yoni’ or genitalia of Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva, fell as the latter was carrying her body all over the world following her death. The sanctum-sanctorum of Kamakhya temple is a natural cave with a spring that also contains a rock cut in the shape of a yoni.