Ambaji shuts down, citizens take lunch in forest praying for rain

In a unique ritual, north Gujarat’s pilgrim town Ambaji on Thursday observed one-day shut down to woo the rain God.

As the rain was delayed this monsoon, the traders and shop owners of Ambaji decided to observe a shut-down as per the traditional belief that this would help in bringing the rain.

As per the tradition, the citizens of this pilgrim town traveled to the forest area just outside the town and had their lunch there. This custom is called ‘Van Bhojan’.

Local civic body ‘Ambaji Gram Panchayat’ had requested local schools to observe closure on Thursday, so that the students can also participate in ‘Van Bhojan’.

Along with the Van Bhojan, a prayer was offered to ‘Indra Dev’ for normal monsoon.

When shower arrived in the evening in Ambaji, Ahmedabad and most of the parts of Gujarat, the people of Ambaji thanked rain God for responding to their prayer.