Himachal deities find followers on social media
MANDI: With over 18,000 likes and 26,000 visits, Dev Kamrunag of Mandi is one of the most visible deity on Facebook.
As the internet penetrates in the hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh, the deities and gods are finding their followers on the internet.
The pages of dieties including Prashar Rishi, Dev Mahunag, Devta Banag, Dev Kangri, Dev Panchveer have over a thousand followers on Facebook.
In fact, the social media presence of deities of Himachal was visible during the seven-day Shivratri fair in Mandi district where Instagram stories on the local gods were trending in the state.
That is not all, a video of Dev Kamrunag visiting Mandi during the Shivratri was widely shared on social media with over 143,000 likes on Facebook and more than 1,300 shares while another post of local administration of Mandi welcoming the 188 deities to the festival has garnered over 32,000 likes.
Rishi Sharma, 23, a resident of Mandi said, “We share the pictures of our ‘devta’ on social media because we want people to know about our culture.”
Thakar Das, 65, former head priest of Dev Kamrunag temple said that their journey from Kamrunag valley to Mandi district on foot was much more difficult a decade ago.
“With changing times, there is a rise in faith as more people know about the fair, thus making our journey easier.”
Deputy commissioner (DC) of Mandi Rugved Thakur said “The major transition in social media began over the last five years. We started sharing about our deities so that people who hail from Himachal and are residing abroad or outside Mandi stay up to date with our culture.”