When I planned my trip to Haridwar for the first bathing date in March, I felt good. I had been given a partial history of the “jar festival” by my yoga teacher (who had, years before, taken sanyasa), had a fairly decent understanding of Hindu beliefs after almost two years in India, and I would be with a Hindu friend who favoured Shiva. Nevertheless, I did have the same wide-eyed expectations that have attracted thousands of foreigners to the festival before.
After an hour of boisterous processions, there are no more elephants, no more sants. And then. In the distance. Tiny dots of grey. They soon became people, whole, naked, ash-covered men: the Naga Sadhus. They walk with stomachs puffed out, stopping only to take a puff of someone’s chillum, accept a free beedi. They need no possessions, just their fix? I wonder. The villagers, who had been crying in ecstasy for the sants, now gather close to take pictures on their mobile phones, often zeroing in on the naked male parts.
(This story appears in the 30 April, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Short and nice article. I think you should have gone there with a Digi Cam and rather than a disposable one :) you would have got a lot of memories to revisit. Thanks for the story !
on Apr 19, 2010Come on, how can one write for a religious event, with such a pathetic scientific view. Rather being enlightening, the author brings in his article a series of dubious pseudo-american touch, thereby completely ignoring the beauty of the complete event, and typecasting the same. <br /> <br /> Just look at the cover picture. the very thought is disturbing and bring a very wrong signal @ a particular community, something which does not represent the major mass followers of the said faith-type. <br /> <br /> very wrongly represented, as a picnic, for the author, was it that for.!!!. rather could have had a ve thought on how people merge in, in spite of infinitesimal lack in state co-ord. and so. onn.... . <br /> get well soon !!!
on Apr 18, 2010