Once in twelve years is an intriguing frequency. The Maha Kumbh Mela is back, and Haridwar is hitting a spiritual crescendo already. Anil Pandey follows the holy trail...
It was a sight to behold, as there converged the devout, the curious, and the modern. On the day of the first holy bath at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, men and women, young and old, teens and tots had thronged the banks of the Ganga looking to wash away their sins and attain Moksha (salvation) – that which the holy river promises to extend to all who immerse themselves in Her, particularly on such auspicious dates. Delhi University student Shameem, along with his IT professional friend Arvind Raghav; Devesh, an MBA student at Kurukshetra University; the young couple Vikas and Preeti, working in a multinational BPO in Gurgaon, and many others like them looked on in awe and reverence. At least here, you couldn’t tell they belonged to the same Facebook-Blackberry generation that seems to be cynical about anything to do with the religion, and dismissed all mysticism as superstition.
On 12th February, the day of Shivaratri that was marked as the Pratham Shahi Snan (First Royal Bath), over fifty lakh people, according to the Kumbh Mela administration, participated in the bathing ritual. The faithfuls believe that a holy dip during the Kumbh Mela helps end the cycle of life and death. In such trying times as ours, when uncertainty and chaos reign, more people are seeking solace in spiritualism, and more urgently. Vikas and Preeti affirm, “The corporate lifestyle has sapped the peace and tranquility in our lives, there’s so much tension now. We are aware that a spiritual outlook tends to bring in peace. Here in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Haridwar and Rishikesh, and on the banks of the Ganga, there is touristy fun as well as inner peace to be had.”
Shameem and his friends Arvind Raghav, Sandeep and Raj – who run an event management company – drove from Delhi to the Kumbh Mela. They claim to be out on a “spiritual tour” alongside plans to indulge in adventure sports like rafting. Says Shameem, “I am a Muslim, but the Ganga and Haridwar have always fascinated me. As soon as my friends told me their plans of coming to the Kumbh Mela to bathe in the Ganga, I readily agreed to join them.”
The enigmatic Naga sadhus and Hath yogis who perform penance for years at a stretch, are also an attraction for the youth. Devesh and his classmates from Haryana were drawn to Kumbh Mela for this very reason. “The world of the Naga sadhus is difficult to imagine. Talking to the chillum-smoking sadhus, their naked bodies smeared with ash, is an adventure in itself.”
It was a sight to behold, as there converged the devout, the curious, and the modern. On the day of the first holy bath at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, men and women, young and old, teens and tots had thronged the banks of the Ganga looking to wash away their sins and attain Moksha (salvation) – that which the holy river promises to extend to all who immerse themselves in Her, particularly on such auspicious dates. Delhi University student Shameem, along with his IT professional friend Arvind Raghav; Devesh, an MBA student at Kurukshetra University; the young couple Vikas and Preeti, working in a multinational BPO in Gurgaon, and many others like them looked on in awe and reverence. At least here, you couldn’t tell they belonged to the same Facebook-Blackberry generation that seems to be cynical about anything to do with the religion, and dismissed all mysticism as superstition.
On 12th February, the day of Shivaratri that was marked as the Pratham Shahi Snan (First Royal Bath), over fifty lakh people, according to the Kumbh Mela administration, participated in the bathing ritual. The faithfuls believe that a holy dip during the Kumbh Mela helps end the cycle of life and death. In such trying times as ours, when uncertainty and chaos reign, more people are seeking solace in spiritualism, and more urgently. Vikas and Preeti affirm, “The corporate lifestyle has sapped the peace and tranquility in our lives, there’s so much tension now. We are aware that a spiritual outlook tends to bring in peace. Here in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Haridwar and Rishikesh, and on the banks of the Ganga, there is touristy fun as well as inner peace to be had.”
Shameem and his friends Arvind Raghav, Sandeep and Raj – who run an event management company – drove from Delhi to the Kumbh Mela. They claim to be out on a “spiritual tour” alongside plans to indulge in adventure sports like rafting. Says Shameem, “I am a Muslim, but the Ganga and Haridwar have always fascinated me. As soon as my friends told me their plans of coming to the Kumbh Mela to bathe in the Ganga, I readily agreed to join them.”
The enigmatic Naga sadhus and Hath yogis who perform penance for years at a stretch, are also an attraction for the youth. Devesh and his classmates from Haryana were drawn to Kumbh Mela for this very reason. “The world of the Naga sadhus is difficult to imagine. Talking to the chillum-smoking sadhus, their naked bodies smeared with ash, is an adventure in itself.”
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