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Bharat's Kumbha Mela festival begins. Sarasvati-Yamuna-Ganga sangamam

Mahakumbh begins, lakhs of devotees take holy dip

Reuters | Jan 14, 2013, 05.36 PM IST

Devotees get dressed after taking dip during first 'Shahi Snan' at the ongoing Mahakumbh in Allahabad.

ALLAHABAD: More than a million pilgrims took a bracing plunge in the sacred Ganges river to wash away lifetime of sins on Monday, in a raucous start to an ever-growing religious gathering that is already the world's largest. 

Once every 12 years, tens of millions of pilgrims stream to Allahabad from across the country for the Mahakumbh at the point where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet with a third, mythical river. 

Officials believe that over the next two months as many as 100 million people will pass through the temporary city that covers an area larger than Athens on a wide sandy river bank. That would make it larger even than previous festivals. 

After a slow start, police chief Alok Sharma said 1.5 million people had gathered by 8am on Monday, with more on their way. 

Two dreadlocked men riding horses emerged from thick camp smoke before dawn, followed by a crowd of ash-smeared and naked holy men, or sadhus, one incongruously wearing a suit jacket. At exactly five minutes past six, they yelled and dashed dancing into the river. 

The ritual " Shahi Snan" was timed to match an auspicious planetary alignment, when believers say spiritual energy flows to earth. 

"I wash away all my sins, from this life and before," said wandering ascetic Swami Shankranand Saraswati, 77, shivering naked in the cold. He said he gave up a career as a senior civil servant 40 years ago to become a holy man, travelled on foot and for decades ate only nuts and fruit. 

The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says God Vishnu wrested from demons a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality. 

In a 12-day fight for possession, four drops fell to earth, in the cities of Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujain and Nasik. Every three years a Kumbh mela is held at one of these spots, with the festival at Allahabad the holiest of them all. 

More than 2,000 years old, the festival is a meeting point for the Hindu sadhus, some who live in forests or Himalayan caves, and who belong to dozens of inter-related congregations. The sects have their own administration and elect leaders, but are also known for violent clashes with each other. 

Some naked, some wrapped in saffron or leopard-print cloth and smoking cannabis pipes, the holy men hold court by fire pits in sprawling camps decorated with coloured neon lights, where they are visited by pilgrims who proffer alms and get blessings. 

Techno babas 

Despite their asceticism, the sects, known as akharas, are moving with the times. Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji, who leads one of the main groups, has a Facebook page. Some gurus advertise on billboards and posters to attract followers, others drive trucks and chat on cellphones.

At the riverbank, men with dreadlocked beards to their feet vied for media attention with yogis supporting heavy weights with their genitals, while others holding golden umbrellas, flags and swords rubbed sand on their bodies after the dip. 

"I feel pleasure," grinned Digambar Navraman Giri," who said he had not sat down for a year, even sleeping on foot. "This is why I became a sadhu," he said, steam rising from his body in the cold air and wearing nothing but two rings on his fingers. 

Baba Ram Puri was given to his guru by his parents when he was barely one year old. At 31, he is now a young spiritual leader himself and says Indians with disposable income want to support traditional holy men. 

"They earn a lot of money but they don't get peace, so they turn to spirituality," he said, sitting on cushions by a smoking fire. "That's why we continue to grow in strength." 

Jim Mallinson, a Sanskrit scholar and expert on sadhus, says that, while exact numbers are hard to come by, it appears the sects are growing in strength and size, and the fair is becoming more religious. 

"I suspect it is because the emerging middle classes are more than happy to spend their surplus cash on sustaining the sadhu tradition," he said. 

Mobile phones and better roads also make the festival more accessible, while a thriving media makes the festival well known all across the country. There is even a smartphone app to guide pilgrims around the site. 

"I won't become a sadhu, I want to be a cricketer," said Gaurav Vashisht, 21, a business student from New Delhi, whose family gives money to support one of the sects. "It's very important that this should survive, it's a great Indian tradition and has been going on for so many years." 

The festival attracts global followers too, with a number of foreigners ordained in the hierarchy of sadhus, including Baba Mangalannand, who is also a popular trance music DJ under the name Goa Gil. He first came to the festival in 1971. 

To cope with the flow of people, authorities in Uttar Pradesh have installed 35,000 toilets, laid 550 km (340 miles) of water pipes and 155 km (95 miles) of temporary roads at the riverbank site. 

Mostly, though, the festival's spirit does not change. Pilgrims make their way there without advertising, announcements or buying tickets. The sadhus show off yogic feats, catch up with old friends and discuss scripture, just as they always have. 

"The Indian people don't change their attitude to spirituality overnight, we're not like the West," Ram Puri said, laughing. "That's why in India the spirit is strong."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mahakumbh-begins-lakhs-of-devotees-take-holy-dip/articleshow/18020325.cms

Allahabad turns into fortress as Maha Kumbh Mela kickstarts today

The Mela organisers estimate a spurt of nearly 10 per cent in the number of pilgrims attending the mela this year in contrast to the last Maha Kumbh held in 2001.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/

14 January 2013 

India's Hindu Kumbh Mela festival begins in Allahabad

By Geeta Pandey

BBC News, Allahabad

Several million people have been bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad in India, on the opening day of the Kumbh Mela festival.

At least 10 million pilgrims are set to do so by the end of the day.

The event, every 12 years, is billed as the biggest gathering on Earth. More than 100 million people are expected to attend the 55-day festival.

Hindus believe a festival dip will cleanse sins and help bring salvation.

In 2001, more than 40 million people gathered on the main bathing day of the festival, breaking a record for the biggest human gathering.

Sprint to waters

The festival formally started at dawn on Monday. All roads leading to the Kumbh Mela grounds are packed with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.

Kumbh Mela in numbers

Visitors: 80-100 million

Number of days: 55

Area: 20 sq km (4,932 acres)

Drinking water: 80 million litres

Toilets: 35,000

Doctors: 243

Police: 30,000

Live updates

Preparing for millions

There was a chill in the air as holy men sprinted into the waters in Allahabad, but the day dawned warmer than in recent weeks when a cold snap hit northern India.

Police estimated that by early afternoon about four million people had bathed.

For many at the festival, one of the most memorable spectacles of the day was when the Naga sadhus, or ascetics, sprinted into the river reciting religious chants, many clad only in marigold garlands.

The naked ash-smeared men arrived in a colourful procession and waded into the chilly waters of Sangam - the point at which the rivers converge.

The Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology - many believe that when gods and demons fought over a pitcher of nectar, a few drops fell in the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar - the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.

Teams are managing crowds on the river bank - as soon as pilgrims finishing bathing, they are encouraged to move away and make space for other bathers.

"I have washed off my sins," Mandita Panna, a resident of Nepal and an early bather, said.

Allahabad has been preparing for the festival for months and a vast tented city has grown up around the river.

Fourteen temporary hospitals have been set up with 243 doctors deployed round-the-clock, and more than 40,000 toilets have been built for the pilgrims.

Police checkpoints have been set up on all roads leading to Allahabad and about 30,000 policemen and security officials have been deployed to provide security during the festival.

The main attraction at the festival is the sadhus, the Hindu holy men

Tens of thousands of men, women and children have set up camp on the white sands of the river front.

On Sunday night, smoke could be seen rising from hundreds of small fires which people had built to cook dinner or keep warm.

One of the main attractions at the festival is the sadhus - Hindu holy men - who have been leading processions accompanied by elephants, camels, horses, chariots and music bands in recent days.

Health concerns

The festival has prompted health concerns, however, with campaigners warning that the river waters are heavily polluted.

Most pilgrims drink a few drops of the Ganges water and many fill bottles to take home with them.

Authorities say they have taken steps to address the concerns.

Last week, companies along the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna were warned against discharging any pollutants into the waters.

Hindus believe a festival dip will cleanse sins and help bring salvation

Reservoirs upstream have been ordered to discharge fresh water into the rivers ahead of the six big bathing days, and the festival authorities have declared the Kumbh Mela area a plastic-free zone.

The Kumbh Mela, which is costing the authorities 11.5bn rupees ($210m; £130m) to organise, is expected to generate business worth at least 120bn rupees, according to a report by India's Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

The report says that the festival is also expected to draw over a million foreign tourists.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21006259

-S.Kalyanraman

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