In the 1990s, when Sandesh Bhandare started as a photojournalist with Marathi newspaper Sakal, he would scour his home city of Pune and Mumbai to capture the urban mood, or interesting moments to capture. During more than a decade in the profession, Bhandare had several opportunities to cover the Wari, the iconic spiritual pilgrimage that’s synonymous with Maharashtra, when the procession wound through Pune each year.      

“In 2000, I went to Pandharpur along with the Warkaris and I was by the Chandrabhaga river, where I saw a few family members bathing an older man from the family, in the holy river. That scene encapsulated the folklore of Pundalik who was devoted to his parents and it was due to him that the idol of Vithoba is at Pandharpur,” shares Bhandare. Since then, he has been photographing the Warkaris and bringing the stories and essence of the Wari to the people.

After participating in the Wari pilgrimage twice, Bhandare published a book titled Wari - Ek Anandyatra that carried not only the photographs of the Warkari community, but also stories and ideas of the state’s bhakti movement.

“The abhangas written by saints like Tukaram and Dnyaneshwar roughly eight centuries back that are sung during the yatra, speak against the caste system, gender disparity, untouchability, religious dogmas, economic inequality and other vices that plague our society. In fact, there are abhangas that are written by Saint Tukaram, about Allah, which highlights what Islam stands for,” he shares. 

Bhandare felt that this kind of open and liberal mindset is the crux of our culture and is imperative for our social fabric. “It’s a social reform movement, which has been kept alive for a thousand years. It’s living spirituality. So I think it is paramount to chronicle this tradition. It’s my attempt to preserve culture, which is needed now more than ever when the mood in the country reflects deep divisions,” he shares.  

Sadanand More, the 88th president of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, says he has known Sandesh for over three decades. “His documentation of the Warkaris is extremely important. While keeping the tradition alive through his images, he also sort of developed his own sense of perception about Wari. The work is important as Wari is the core of Maharashtra's culture,” More says.