Chandrapur's Mahakali festival opens with 51-ft flag; singing events cancelled over drought

The Mata Mahakali Mahotsav 2026 began in Chandrapur on Sunday, October 11, with the formal hoisting of a 51-foot flag on the occasion of Ghatasthapana. The ceremony was held at the Shri Mata Mahakali Temple. The festival is being organised by the Shri Mata Mahakali Mahotsav Trust.

At the flag hoisting, MLA Kishor Jorgewar offered prayers before the silver idol. A palanquin procession of the Goddess followed. Given the drought situation in the state, the entertainment programmes of the festival have been cancelled this time. Religious traditions and social initiatives will continue as before.

Those present at the event included Manish Maharaj, Sunil Mahakale, Raju Shastrakar, Ajay Jaiswal, Shyam Dhopte, Milind Gampawar, Balram Dodani, Prasad Jorgewar, Sanju Burghate, Arun Tikhe, Savita Dandhare and Vandana Hatgaonkar. Office-bearers of the Shri Mahakali Mata Mahotsav Trust and a large number of devotees also attended.

According to the organisers, the decision to cancel the entertainment programmes was taken keeping in mind the drought-like conditions in Maharashtra. They intend to save the expenditure on these programmes and use it to help farmers struggling with the drought. The emphasis has been on keeping up the festival's tradition while balancing faith, service and social responsibility.

MLA Kishor Jorgewar said the decision was taken after an appeal by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In his words, "In the drought-like situation in Maharashtra, looking after the suffering and difficulties of our farmer brothers is our social responsibility. That is why we have decided to cancel the entertainment programmes and help drought-hit farmers with that expenditure. But the religious tradition of the Mata Mahakali Mahotsav and the initiatives that serve society will continue. With the blessings of the Mother, we are trying to carry this tradition of devotion, service and social responsibility forward."

After the flag hoisting, the silver idol of Mata Mahakali was worshipped according to ritual. The idol was then placed in a palanquin and taken in procession to the chariot. Amid bhajan-kirtan and music, the chariot was taken to the house of Nitin Kumarwar. This year, the Kumarwar family has received the first honour of taking the silver idol to their home and giving devotees the chance to have darshan.

During Navratri, there is a tradition of taking the silver idol of Mata Mahakali from house to house for darshan. In keeping with this, the idol has been installed at the Kumarwar family's home. On Monday, October 12, the idol will be taken with music from Nitin Kumarwar's house to the house of Ramjeevan Parmar.

The cancelled programmes include the singing events of the five-day festival scheduled from October 14. Performances were due from devotional singers Gajendra Pratap Singh, Hemant Brijwasi and Chaitanya Deodhe, and singer Jaipinder Narula. All these programmes were cancelled in view of the severity of the drought in the state.

The religious traditions and social initiatives, however, will go ahead as planned. These include worship and a meal for 9,999 girls, an initiative in which married women are given green bangles with wishes for lasting marital good fortune, and the gifting of a silver coin to girls born during Navratri. A city procession (Nagar Pradakshina) will also be taken out on October 19.