“We are not here to propagate any religion or community; we are just here to spread the universal message of love, truth, harmony and equality. Post the terror attacks, people are living in some kind of fear. The only way to dispel this fear is by spreading positive feelings among all the communities. This festival is celebrated keeping this thought in mind,” said a senior organiser, Kirpa Singh.

“I have always heard of the Samagam but never got a chance to attend any of its events so far. But this time I knew I had to come, this is one single platform to meet like-minded people from various backgrounds and release our attention from mundane materialistic things,” said 67-year-old Sughanda Parekh from Satara. Another main attraction of the event was the Langar, or the daily Prasad comprising jeera rice, rotis, dal and other everyday food. Over 2,000 volunteers worked towards preparing this humongous meal. “We have been working here since 4 am. So far we have made 450 quintals of rice and numerous rotis. Though on any given day, this will take all the energy out of us, today we don’t feel a thing. Maybe it’s the sheer presence of positive people or it is something more,” said cook Lal Chand Prajapati.