Muzaffarpur: Mahashivratri approaches, the city of Muzaffarpur is filled with devotion, lights and celebration. The famous Baba Garibnath Temple is beautifully decorated with flowers and garlands. Thousands of devotees from Muzaffarpur and nearby districts of North Bihar are expected to arrive for the grand wedding celebration of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. For the people here, this is not just a festival but a deeply emotional and spiritual event that brings the whole city together.
The biggest attraction of the celebration is Baba Garibnath’s special turban, known as the Maudi. This year too, Baba will wear a five-foot-tall turban, while a smaller three-foot turban will be used in the wedding procession. This unique tradition has been followed for the last 68 years without any break. It was started by Faggulal Sah and then carried forward by Ramnarayan Sah and Rajkumar Sah. Today, the fourth generation of the family continues this sacred work with the same dedication and faith.
Making the Maudi is not easy and takes nearly 15 days of hard work. It is prepared using kut, cumin, saaj and wire, and is then decorated with pearls, herbs and Rudraksha beads. Ganour Ram, who has been making the Maudi for almost 50 years, says that even though his hands ache, he feels spiritual peace while doing this service for Baba. Every year, two Maudis are prepared—one for daily worship rituals and another for the grand wedding ceremony.
The wedding celebrations will begin with Madwa-Matkor puja and will be followed by a grand Shiva procession across the city. Lord Shiva will be placed on a decorated chariot, wearing the five-foot-tall turban, and will join the devotees. The procession will pass through major areas like Gola Road, Motijheel, Saraiyaganj and Daldali Bazaar before reaching Baba Garibnath Dham. This year, many beautiful tableaux will also be part of the procession, including scenes of Goddess Durga, Shanidev and the Shiva-Parvati wedding. Over five lakh devotees are expected to take part, turning the entire city into Baba’s wedding party.
