SRINIGAR: Hindus paid obeisance at the holiest Hindu shrine of Mata Khirbhawani in Tullamulla village, 24 km from summer capital Srinagar in Ganderbal district. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also paid obeisance at the shrine and interacted with the devotees who gathered around to speak to him.

Rare scenes of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood were witnessed as locals in Tullamulla village served milk in earthen pots to the Pandits, keeping up the centuries old local tradition.

“It is precisely due to the devotion to Mata and love for our Muslim brothers that I have been coming here regularly all these years,” said Ashok Koul, 42, who came from Jammu with his family.

Muhammad Shafi Baht, 52, a local Muslim, said: “The scene at the Mela has remained unchanged despite the political upheavals. Muslims in Tullamulla have always eagerly waited for the festival each year to be of some help to the Pandit brothers.

Read more: Communal Harmony