Every year, hordes of devotees of Lord Vithoba and Rakhumai undertake an annual pilgrimage known as ‘Wari’ from Alandi and Dehu to Pandharpur.  The pilgrims cover a distance of 258 km on foot in about 21 days. There are usually four days of rest in between and they traverse unforgiving summer heat, and observe a spartan lifestyle throughout. They are carried along by religious fervour and sing abhangs along the route to make the pilgrimage less daunting and seemingly effortless.

YouTooCanRun, a Kalina-based sports management company, announced the launch of the virtual edition of this annual Wari. In these times of digital devotion necessitated by Covid-19, where our worlds moved online, the company is giving people an opportunity to be a virtual Warkari. “Not everyone can participate in such tough physical conditions, but may still want to maintain their faith. YouTooCanRun has taken the initiative of replicating the physical experience on a virtual mobile app. The app can be downloaded from Playstore on June 17. The participants in the virtual edition will walk the same distance on the same number of days, but from their familiar surroundings, wherever they reside. It has been estimated that the distance of 258 km equals 3,40,000 steps,” said a statement from YouTooCanRun.