The wari plays out as a huge festival where everything from the palkhi to the rath (chariot) which carries it, the venues for their halt, and the images of Vitthal and Rukmini are dressed up to the hilt. Most Warkaris themselves though, given their limited means, are dressed in simple and unostentatious garb. What they lack in accoutrements however, they make up for in their zeal and vigour. Despite walking for tens of kilometers everyday they are never short of energy, always ready to swing to the beats of the mridangam or spin in abandonment during a game of fugdi holding on to the hands of their fellow Warkaris.
Sahapedia is grateful to Bajaj Autos Pvt. Ltd. for the grant that made possible the documentation for this photo essay.