Kanwar Yatra: Four brothers carrying parents on their shoulders reach Shamli

The Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of Lord Shiva's devotees Kanwariyas, who visit Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch holy waters of River Ganga in the Hindu month of Shravan.

Shamli (Uttar Pradesh): Covering almost 130 kilometres on foot, four brothers carrying their parents in two palanquins reached Shamli on Sunday.

Papan, one of the brothers who were participating in Kanwar Yatra, said: "We have started our journey from Panipat on July 20. Our parents are our gods and they have done a lot for us."

Last year, only two brothers were there, but this time, all four of us are here, he added.

Every year, around this time of the year, scores of these devotees from across India, often wearing orange-coloured clothes with decorated pots on their shoulders, undertake the pilgrimage, called Kanwar Yatra, on foot during Saavan- a month in the Hindu calendar.

These pilgrims, majority of who are young men, visit Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch waters of River Ganga.

Later, the holy water is dispensed as offerings to Lord Shiva in temples.