VADODARA, Feb 14: Maha Shivratri was celebrated with unprecedented gaiety and elan in city on Sunday. While special functions were organised in almost all the temples of the city, a day-long programme was held at the Sursagar to mark the festival.With Sursagar being tastefully decorated, areas like Mandvi, Dandiya Bazaar and Raopura wore a festive look. A special function, which included a yagna, began at the Shiv Temple early in morning and concluded in the evening with an aarti. Tens of hundreds of devotees floated diyas into the pond to mark the conclusion of the aarti.
An impressive skating rally, flagged off by Mayor Bharatiben Vyas, was taken out by children of different schools from Sursagar in the evening. The children -- who were accompanied by about a dozen `sadhus' -- skated through Dandiya Bazaar, Raopura and concluded their hour-long rally at the pond. All the roads seemed to lead to Sursagar in the evening, where senior and prominent citizens of the city including senior officials and political leaders attended the aarti. Prasad was distributed among the devotees later. A dance-play staged by the students of the Faculty of Performing Arts, M S University, was also held as part of the function.
Elsewhere, a special function was organised at Anandbaug, Nehru Marg, by the members of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mahadev Mandir Trust, to mark the occasion.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.