Sweet voices carried
by the sticky monsoon air.
Chanting holy names.
I loved visiting Ganeshpuri in July. It’s monsoon season then, but more importantly it’s Guru Purnima – a time for devotees to reflect on and celebrate their spiritual teachers.
Ganeshpuri is a temple town focused on the legacy of a holy man called Nityananda, who passed away in 1961. Devotees honour their teacher here through daily rituals at the temple and other shrines dotted throughout the town. On Thursdays – guru day – there’s a colourful and noisy procession through the village. Called the palkhi, a procession of barefoot, singing devotees carries a small statue of Nityananda on a flower-adorned platform. Shopkeepers and villagers come out onto the street as the palkhi passes by, making offerings of fruit. Lights from little oil lamps glow, and incense wafts into the air.
In July, hundreds of devotees from all over India descend on the town to celebrate Guru Purnima. It is chaotic, joyful, and sticky!
Poems from here 
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