PADAYATRA INDIA IN ANDHRA PRADESH
On May 13th we arrived in the village of Jangaredypalli, 30 kms from the city of Eluru, headquarter of the West Godavari district of Andra Pradesh. Only three more days to reach Eluru.
Since one month we have been graced with the company of Radha Vallabha prabhu from ISKCON Tirupati, a holy city located in the Southern part of Andhra Pradesh. Being well acquainted with this area, he is taking padayatris to remote villages which are not covered by other local ISKCON preachers. As we walk, he makes announcements to the public in telugu, the local language, which makes it easier for people to participate in the evening programs. Every day about 200 devotees attend that evening program, during which they receive kicchri and halavah. On festival days the congregational devotees from nearby areas sponsor full plates of prasadam.
Whenever we enter a village people are amazed to see us walking in the hot sun. We can hear these kinds of comments, «Who are these people walking in the hot sun ? They have an oxcart with two beautiful gods and a sadhu sitting in front. They look so powerful. » Villagers welcome us nicely and make the necessary arrangements for our accomodations.
There are now 24 devotees on padayatra, 15 saffron-robed brahmacaris, including Prabhupada’s disciple Akhiladhara Prabhu, one Russian devotee named Vaikunthaloka and seven other young men. As you can see in the following book scores, padayatris are being very strong and steady in their book distribution.
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