Dindi

Understand

Where Dindi comes from

Dindi is the processional devotional form of the Varkari sampradaya, the Vaishnava community of Maharashtra that worships Krishna as Vithoba (Vithala) of Pandharpur. The tradition has been part of Hindu culture in Maharashtra since the 13th century, when it formed during the Bhakti movement around saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath and Tukaram. The annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur — the Vari — is the Varkaris' central observance, and the procession is the core devotional act of the movement. The Wari tradition was documented extensively by the scholar Karine Schomer and the pilgrim Digambar Mokashi in his 1987 work Palkhi.

How it's practiced

Dindi is performed by a group of Varkaris walking in procession, singing the bhajans and kirtans of the Varkari saints in call-and-response, and dancing with small cymbals (jhanj) in each hand. The group proceeds slowly, rhythmically, with the lead singers setting the tempo. Performers wear the tulasi mala (basil rosary), the gopichandan tilak on the forehead and simple white cotton dress — the same uniform worn on the annual Pandharpur Wari. The form is performed both on the Wari itself and at smaller local processions in villages around the state.