Preparations in full swing for historic Bhandara in Indore's Ranjit Hanuman Temple; Bhatti Pujan performed; 15 kg besan, 90 tins of ghee to be used to prepare Nukti
On Tuesday, a Bhandara (community feast) will be held at the Ranjit Hanuman Temple in Indore for 80,000 devotees. To mark the occasion, the Bhatti Pujan (worship of the cooking hearth) was performed on Monday morning. Prasad will be prepared for over 80,000 devotees.
With the completion of the Bhatti Pujan, preparations for preparing the historic bhandara officially commenced. Following the ritual, the Nukti Prasad will be prepared first—a process expected to take the entire day. Subsequently, preparations for Puris and Bhajiyas will begin in the evening. Keeping the summer season in mind, the preparation of Ram-Bhaji will commence on Tuesday morning.
On Monday morning, the Bhatti Pujan was performed within the temple premises by the temple priest, Pt. Deepesh Vyas, along with other participants. Following the ritualistic worship of the hearth, the Nukti Prasad will be prepared.
For this, the Nukti will be made using 15 quintals of gram flour (besan), 15 quintals of sugar, 90 tins of ghee, 20 kilograms of cardamom powder, 5 tins of broken cashews, and various other dry fruits. Pt. Deepesh Vyas stated that once the Nukti Prasad is ready, the preparation of Puris will begin in the evening.
In accordance with the temple's tradition, a Bhandara is organized at the temple on the first Tuesday following Hanuman Janmotsav. This Tuesday, the Bhandara will be hosted at the temple. Preparations for this event have already begun within the temple premises, where Prasad will be prepared for over 80,000 devotees.
In the evening, following Baba's Aarti and the offering of Bhog, the Bhandara will commence within the temple premises. Devotees will form a queue to receive packets of Prasad before exiting. Arrangements are being made to ensure that devotees can also take these packets home with them.