OCR Text |
Show India's Great Religious Fair. The Narel Purnema, a religious fair, was lately celebrated in India on a rrand scale. Its ceremonials are' con-. con-. aected with the sea and from early morning multitudes of men and women j :ould be seen wending their way ocean-ward ocean-ward to perform their sacred ablutions. ablu-tions. The arrivals had reached such lumbers by noon that the streets and, country roads were packed. There were numerous booths and stalls to accommodate the vast crowds, and about 6 p. m. the procession reached the cotton market headed by elephants ele-phants richly caparisoned, and followed fol-lowed by numerous native and military bands, by infantry, Arab chowkidars, and mounted police, while a string of carriages occupied by state officials brought up the rear. The Maharaja Sahib was driven in a carriage and four down to the seashore to worship ! the deity who presides over the waves. The procession was one mile long and the ceremonies did not' break up till midnight. |