HEMA'S LOVE FOR RADHA

Mathura

 

The doors for development of village Raval, birth place of Radha Rani, consort of Sri Krishna, were opened when the local MP Hema Malini at a function announced her decision Monday evening to adopt the village under the Saansad Adarsh gram Vikas Yojana, launched by prime minister Narendra Modi on the independence day.

 

Years of neglect will end for this backwaters village across river Yamuna, in the ravines. Of the 179 villages in Mathura district, Hema Malini has chosen Raval. Whereas other shrines in the Braj Mandal are popular and visited by millions round the year, there are hardly any visitors to this under-developed village.

 

When IANS talked to Hema Malini to find out why she zeroed in on Raval, she said her reasons were both practical and emotional. As a Sri Krishna devotee her emotional bonding with Radha Rani needs no explanation.

 

Hema Malini while addressing villagers recited a Sanskrit Shloka saying "its my great fortune that I have been able to adopt the village of Radha Rani." She told media persons that prime minister Narendra Modi has very thoughtfully launched this scheme. She asked the local people to focus on education, cleanliness, medi-care and "nashabandi" abstaining from liquor and drug addiction.

 

She said they all keep chanting Radhey Radhey all over Braj area but Radha's own village has been waiting for centuries for some development. "No one has thought of developing this non-descript village across the Yamuna. I am determined to restore Raval its original glory and importance by developing it and bringing it on the tourist map through public participation. Today I have started the work. Raval will symbolise women's empowerment," Hema Malini said.

 

Hema said the schools need support and care. "Children's education will be a priority area. The approach road needs to be repaired. Through continuous interaction and feedback, Raval's profile is all set to change."

 

She held several group meetings and encouraged the locals to come forward to join the developmental Ygna.

Raval, in Mahavan tehsil,  is nine kilometres from Mathura on the other side of river Yamuna.

Mathura's chief development officer  Durga Shakti Nagpal told IANS that Raval was underdeveloped going by the index and it met all the parameters as described in the Yojana. Nagpal said Raval "is part of the Mahavan tehsil and its population is 4500. 

The village has remained largely neglected."  But now things could begin to change for the better. A villager Ram Gopal said "Hema Malini appears to have chosen Raval both to bring it into public focus and also to provide the villagers a better life." He said water is a big problem apart from the approach road. The farmers are poor and most were small or marginal farmers. Many will lose their farmland once the catchment area of the Gokul Barrage is increased.  

The village has a small temple and a garden dedicated to Radha Rani. But very few pilgrims visit the place as the entire focus has so far been on Vrindavan, the "leela bhoomi" of Sri Krishna and Barsana because of the Holi festival.

Talking to IANS, Lalit Mohan Kalla,  the Mukhia (chief priest) of the temple, Radha was King Vrsabhanu's daughter. Raval means chieftain of several villages. The story goes that while taking a bath in the river Vrsabhanu saw a shining golden lotus flower with a little baby in the middle. The baby was Radha who was born blind. But during the birthday rituals and ceremonies little Sri Krishna who came with Nand Maharaj, looked at her. "The first person she saw was her eternal consort, Sri Krishna."

Kalla said very few pilgrims visit this village and temple because of lack of publicity. "The temple was extesively damaged several times due to floods, the last one being in 1978 but now with support from devotees, the whole structure has been renovated with marble. The authenticity of this village and temple has been explained in details by the British collector of Mathura FS Browse in the Mathura-Vrindavan Gazetteer. Raval is fortunate to have an active MP in Hema Malini and I am sure the whole area would benefit from her devotion and commitment to development."

 

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