This a walkathon of sorts. And is also a fun walk for many from Bengaluru to Chamundi hills? Did you know, over a 100 members from the Gujarati community who live in Bengaluru do this every year. One of the eminent members of the Patel Community, Manoj Patel, a businessman from Bengaluru says, “We begin the walk four days before Navaratri celebrations. We do this out of our faith and now it has become like a ritual for us”. Jayantilal Patel shares, “It was Jayantilal who began this 22 years ago. We simply joined him after that. Call it our faith or a ritual, we feel the festivities are incomplete, if we do not walk from Bengaluru to Chamundi Hills in Mysuru every year. We would do something similar in Gujarat too.”

The group includes both men and women and they usually begin the walk at dawn from Bengaluru. They ensure they keep first aid available at any time of need. “We make multiple stops in between for food and such and usually at night we sleep at gurukuls or choultries arranged by the community,” says Gaurav Patel. Jayantilal Patel adds, “We don’t plan much in advance. We just walk together for a higher purpose. We have a car that follows us throughout the route with all the necessary medical supplies. The day we reach Chamundi Hills, we go to the temple for darshan and leave the same day, to reach Bengaluru, just in time for the festivities.”