Sadhus at Deshnami Akhara temple before carries the Holy Mace of Lord Shiva and prayers would be offered at sureshwar temple at Sonawar in Srinagar on Thursday,19 August 2010. Shiv temples at Pampore and Bijbehara and Martand-Tirth temple at Mattan in Anantnag district towards the Holy Amarnath cave in Srinagar on Thursday. It is an age old tradition to take the holy mace to different temples to perform religious rituals before finally taking it to the holy Amarnath cave on the day of Rakshabandan, the Hindu festival that celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters.

Photographer: Bilal Najar

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