Kali Yatra Festival Opens At Divali Nagar
The opening night of the Kali Yatra Festival at the Divali Nagar Main Stage was one of grace, revelation, and devotion.
In its thirteenth year, the festival, organised by the Trinidad and Tobago Yatra Committee, attracts thousands annually and has evolved into one of the largest Hindu festivals outside of India dedicated to the Goddess Kali.
The celebration, a vision of Gopaul Ragoonanan, is continued by his daughter, Rianna Ragoonanan, alongside the Trinidad and Tobago Yatra Committee.
What was once a single-day procession has evolved into a week-long celebration with kathā discourses, divine pujas, and dance-lilas honouring the goddess.
This year’s theme, « Maa Bhavatarini: Liberator of the World, » as explored by spiritual leader Sadhvi Anandamaiyee Giri, highlights Kali Maa’s fierceness and compassion.
« She is Bhavatarini Maa. Bhavatarini. ‘Bhava’ means this mundane world, this mundane existence, bondage. And ‘Tarini’ means the one who is able to liberate us, to free us, to allow us to cross this bondage of this mundane existence. »
Devotees had the opportunity to witness the unveiling of a mūrti of Kaali Maa from the location where the Bhavatarini aspect of Mother Kali was first consecrated by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa following Rani Rasmani’s vision.
« It is that Bhavatarini Maa in a few minutes. All of you devotees are lucky and have the blessings of Maa Kali to witness and have the darshan of that Bhavatarini Maa for the first time in history on the shores of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. »
As devotees from around the world gathered for the Kali Pūjā by Pundit Satyam Keso Maharaj and dances by the Chingaari Dance Institute, among other divine rituals, it was a powerful reminder of Mother Kali’s message to Rani Rasmani that the pilgrimage starts at home.
« Why don’t you establish my temple here in Dakshineshwar? Why don’t you establish my image, my murti, here in Dakshineshwar instead of going somewhere else for pilgrimage, Because one day to come, Dakshineshwar will become a place of pilgrimage to millions from all walks of life. »
The hope is that the collective energy created by the Kali Yatra devotions inspires positive change. The festival runs from August 19th to 24th.
