New Delhi: It may well look like an agitation site for the last few days but the Ramlila Maidan, host to Anna Hazare's fast against corruption, wakes up with the bhajans of Mahatma Gandhi and sound of blowing conches.
As Hazare's fast enters its eleventh day on Friday, a group of religious followers from the 'Gayatri parivar' came to Ramlila Maidan to wake up thousands of protestors with their rendition of 'Raghupati Raghav Rajaram', a bhajan very dear to Mahatma Gandhi.
Clad in their trademark yellow attire, a group of six people reached the venue in the wee hours from the national capital's Dwarka locality and began chanting of bhajans and religious songs with the sunrise.
A steady trickle of eye-rubbing protestors began to troop around the group which sat right in front of the dais from where Hazare has been leading the agitation demanding a strong Lokpal Bill.
"We have been coming here since Anna took centrestage at the maidan. This is a very important and sacred struggle and we want all the protestors to wake up with songs that inspire devotion and patriotism," Raghuveer Pant, one of the group members said.
The agitation has been non-violent all these days and we want to remind the people this virtue by singing songs of the Mahatma, Pant said.
The group performed a special "deep yagya" of 32 earthen lamps on Friday to wish the 73-year-old Hazare a long life and for bringing 'sadbuddhi' (right thinking) to the government. The group also performs a small 'pooja' and distributes 'prasad' once they finish.
The group, armed with cymbals and other musical instruments, also chanted 'Gayatri mantra' while blowing conch at the dawn. The group members were sporting pro-Hazare slogans on themselves.
"I am used to praying in the morning but I never thought I could get to hear the pious chants here. It is welcome,"said Santosh Bhujabal, a resident of Maharashtra's Nashik district.
Catching up with the activity, a number of protestors were seen forming small groups and not only chanting religious songs but also trademark slogans of the Hazare-led movement, 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.
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