The portals of Kedarnath Dham are all set to be re-opened for devotees early Friday morning and the Himalayan temple has been decorated with 108 quintals of assorted flowers brought from across the country and abroad to befit the occasion.
More than 150 volunteers have worked day and night to decorate the temple and each one of them feel blessed to have got an opportunity to serve Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of the centuries old temple located at more than 11,000 feet above the sea level in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district.
Fifty-four varieties of flowers, including roses and marigolds, brought from Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka, and from places across India including Delhi, Kashmir, Pune, Kolkata and Patna have been used to adorn the temple, said Srijal Vyas from Vadodara in Gujarat who leads the volunteers engaged in decorating the temple.
Marigold flowers are especially brought from a Kolkata village as unlike the local variety they do not wilt quickly, lasting for 10-15 days on an average, Vyas said. "We had a tough time coming here. Our trains were cancelled and many of us had to come by air. In the absence of horses we faced difficulty in bringing around 80 quintals of flowers to these heights to decorate the temple," he said.
"But we are all delighted to have had an opportunity to serve our beloved deity," Vyas added.
His sentiment was echoed by the other members of his team as well.
"It is an experience of a lifetime. Getting an opportunity to decorate the temple of Lord Shiva is a rare blessing. My wife and 10-year-old son are also accompanying me," Tapan Desai told PTI Videos.
"Despite health issues, my wife came here to serve the lord. I express my deepest gratitude to Srijal bhai for this opportunity," he added.
"We are decorating our lord's abode as we would decorate our own homes for a wedding. We do not want to leave anything wanting," Vyas said.
The idol of lord Shiva which is worshipped during the winter at Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath will arrive here on Thursday via Gaurikund in a flower-bedecked palanquin on the shoulders of priests and Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) functionaries.
Thirty-five artisans from West Bengal have also helped in the beautifying the temple.
The temple gates will be opened at 7 am on Friday, Rawal (chief priest) of the temple Bhimashankar Ling, said.
Preparations for opening the gates of the temple will begin at 6 am only, he said.
An attractive new feature for the pilgrims in Kedarnath this time would be a grand "aarti" on the lines of Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, Haridwar and Rishikesh to be performed at the confluence of the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers near the temple, BKTC CEO Vijay Thapliyal said.
All arrangements have been made for the aarti with ramps erected on three sides of the confluence of the two ancient rivers for devotees to view the scene, he said.
The idol of Nandi in front of the temple and that of Shankaracharya near the temple have also been decorated with flowers this time, Thapliyal said.