Devotees gather at the Kamakhya temple for the Ambubachi mela in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, June 22: The sound of the domboru (a small hourglass-shaped drum), cymbals and conches rented the air and thousands of sadhus, tantriks and devotees converged on the Nilachal hill here at noon as the Kamakhya temple closed it doors to mark the beginning of the five-day Ambubachi mela.

While thousands used the buses provided by the government along with smaller vehicles, sadhus and tantriks preferred to take the ancient stone stairs leading up to the temple. Many, however, will wait till Wednesday, when the temple doors will be thrown open again. These five days mark the annual menstrual cycle of Maa Kamakhya, or goddess Shakti or Sati, during which devotees are barred from entering the sanctum sanctorum or the garbhagriha, where the water in the yoni (genitalia)-shaped cleft rock turns red. On the fifth day, however, thousands will queue up to pay obeisance to the goddess.

Sanatan Bag from Bokreswar in Bengal reached Guwahati four days ago and was sitting on the pavement by the road snaking up to the temple when this correspondent talked to him today.

“I am not tired. I am waiting for the temple to reopen,” said the 70-year-old sadhu who is visiting the Ambubachi mela for the fourth time. “I often visit Tarapith (a shakti peeth in Bengal), Badrinath and other places. Kamakhya is a nice place and I will keep coming here.”

Even the sweltering heat is not deterring the devotees. Temple authorities today said around 2 lakh pilgrims from across the country had already arrived. “We are expecting more than 4 lakh devotees by Monday,” a temple official said. Most pilgrims come from Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.

This year, the Assam government is providing free shelter, transport, food and guides to promote the annual congregation as a tourist attraction. Apart from these, the premises of the Kamakhya temple, Umananad temple and the ancient Sukreswar temple have been illuminated.

“We can clearly see these two temples from atop the Nilachal hill and so we have illuminated them to make the view more attractive for the pilgrims and visitors,” a state government official said.