Mumbai (Maharashtra), May 1, 2012: The 18-day grand celebration to mark the 200 years of Shri Godiji Parshwanath Bhagwan Temple (Derasar) at Pydhonie will end today.
The celebration had started with intimating Jains a month in advance by sending sweets to each and every one of the 1.4 lakh Jain households in the city.
On Tuesday, the day it actually completed 200 years, 8.4 lakh Jains were fed the same food which was prepared in the 130 centres across the city. The celebration saw rangoli, dance and mehendi for every Jain woman, food was provided to all who came to the temple, and bhajans, maha aartis and rath yatras were organised.
“We had a dance every day from 2pm to 4pm. I will come again on Wednesday for the final day of dance and celebrate Lord Parshwanath’s birth,” said Neeta Talajia, 48, a Zaveri Bazaar resident.
Inside the temple, every corner of which was decorated with flowers, programmes were held which were attended by 250 sadhus and sadhvis. Bids were put to raise money for them. “The idea behind this was that the amount raised be spent for the education and medical treatment of all sadhus and sadhvis.
Around Rs7 lakh was raised on Tuesday,” said Muni Vimal Sagar Maharaj who oversaw the celebration.
He said that in all around Rs13 crore was spent, barring the temple’s renovation cost. “The most has been spent on Tuesday’s lunch. The total cost of the food served at the 130 centres is around Rs11 crore. The expenses for the programmes/activities held on the other days, including distribution of sweets, were Rs2 crore,”he added.
For the renovation of the temple, Vimal Sagar said Rs9 crore was spent. “It’s less because the marble was bought almost 40 years before the work was to start. Otherwise, the expense would have been much more.” – News Courtesy: DNA India