| Submitted by: Gopal Venkat United States |
| Submission Date: 09 February 2005 |
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Ever since I realized in mid 2000 that the Kumbh-Mela was to take place in January 2001, I was determined to attend it. The Cultural, historical and religious significance of the event was too enormous to miss it. I had planned on attending the previous Kumbh-Mela (in 1989) only to realize a tad late that I was on a Project in Europe and therefore was forced to miss it.
This is an event that takes place every 12 years. One Story being that when the Asuras (demons) and Gods were wrestling with a pot of Amrit (Nectar), a few drops spilt on the ground. The 4 areas where these drops spilt are Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain (all in India) thus sanctifying these places. As this duel was spread over 12 heavenly days (the equivalent to 12 human years), it is celebrated at 12-day (12 human year) intervals.
The annual festival (Magha Mela) is celebrated each year.
The Second interpretation being that when the Sun enters Capricorn on the New Moon in the Month Magh (January), the Planet Jupiter resides in Aquarius. This occurs every 12 years and is held to be auspicious. This is celebrated all over India especially at the confluence of the rivers Ganga (Ganges), Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati at Prayag (Allahabad).
The Maha Kumbh-Mela takes place every 12 years and the current one was to be at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, at Prayag (Allahabad). The river Saraswati is apparently an underground river. The ancient Hindu Name for this place was Prayag. The Muslim conquerors re-named it to Allahabad. (It is located in the State of Uttar Pradesh - the most Populous of the Indian States)
I was working in Sydney, Australia and made numerous telephone calls to India regarding Hotel availability and train reservations. Allahabad does not have an Airport.
Co-coordinating with some relatives in India, I was able to get the hotel accommodation in Allahabad and obtain train tickets to Allahabad. As my dad had never been to this event in his lifetime (he is 63), I decided to take him along. I was to fly to Madras (Chennai), India from Sydney, Australia and then take the train to Allahabad.
Having taken 3 weeks off for this event, I decided to spend some time visiting Varanasi (or Kashi). We were to take the train from Madras to Varanasi, spend a few days there, proceed to Allahabad, and spend 2 days there, before heading back to Madras. The Total Cost of the Train Fare (on Air-Conditioned Sleeper Class) was Rs.8000 (US$160) for the 2 of us.
This particular constellation of planets had occurred 144 years earlier and was not expected to occur for another 144 years. The Most Auspicious of all the Days (The Kumbh-Mela is approximately for 40 days) was to be on January 24, 2001. This was a new-moon day known as 'Mauni Amavasya'. As hotel reservations were extremely hard to obtain, we decided to forgo a dip in the Ganges/Yamuna/Saraswati on this day and instead settle on another auspicious day of January 29, 2001 (Makar Sankaranti).
I reached Madras, India on January 12 and spent around 10 days visiting friends and relatives. |
We departed from Madras (Chennai) on January 22, 2001 aboard the Ganga-Kaveri Express. We had booked ourselves on an Air-Conditioned Sleeper Coach. We were scheduled to pass through Allahabad on January 24, 2001 around 6 AM. The satisfaction being that we would be in the city of Prayag (Allahabad) on the most auspicious of days.
On waking up the morning of January 24, we found ourselves around 40 kilometres (25 Miles) from Allahabad around 8 AM! Due to the increased number of trains and people coming into the city on this day, the railway authorities had decided to clear the stations platforms of any newly arrived train, before allowing the next train to come into the station to drop its load of Pilgrims. This process was quite SLOW and we reached Allahabad around 1:30 PM. The last 40 Kilometres (25 Miles) took around 5 hours! There were trains coming into Allahabad from 5 directions. Owing to the number of trains (most of them were special trains scheduled expressly for the Kumbh-Mela) and the number of people they had to discharge and take-in, I guess the delay was acceptable.
We got off the Train at Allahabad (the train stopped there for an hour) and chatted with a couple of people. We met a man from the State of Bihar (North East India) who had taken a bath at 1 A.M. (the auspicious time on the auspicious day!) and was waiting to board a train to take him home. After his bath, he had walked back a distance of 6 miles (10 Kilometres) to the Train Station and patiently squatted on the train platform for his train. And here I was, traveling in an Air-Conditioned Coach on the Train and planning to stay at 3 and 5-Star hotels!
We departed Allahabad around 2:30 PM. As this was the first train of the Day to run between Allahabad and Varanasi, it ran as a Passenger train (as opposed to an express train). The next station after Allahabad was Prayag. The crowds here were a sight to behold. The Conductor of the train smartly locked the doors to our Coach. The Crowd being what it is, rules do not apply here. People will board without tickets and will sit wherever they can find a place. There is not much the Conductor can do against that!
We chatted with a Christian Missionary (from the United Kingdom) who was quite amused at Foreigners (read Non-Hindus) being to taken in by this event. You can encounter many Europeans / Americans who travel here for this event. Many go to the extent of growing long hair (like the Sadhus - Monks), dressing up in traditional Indian garb and becoming Vegetarians. (Perhaps for the duration of their stay here). Some even start spouting Ahimsa (non-violence) and peace messages. Live and let live.
We finally reached Varanasi at 8:30 PM. The train was 12 hours late! The Overall Journey from Madras to Varanasi (a distance of 2143 Kilometres - 1340 miles) had taken us 53 hours! We took an Auto-rickshaw (the motorized 3-wheeled vehicle - unique to India) to Hotel Vaibhav (56 Patel Nagar, Cantonment, Varanasi. Phone: 0542-346477 / 346588 / 345055 / 345056). Though we had booked for a regular Air-conditioned room (Rs. 700 / day - US$ 14) we were given a free upgrade to a deluxe room (Rs. 1200 / Day - US$ 24) for tonight as the hotel had run out of regular rooms. This was a really nice room. We had dinner at the Hotel restaurant before turning in for the night.
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We Woke up early and were ready around 9 AM. A Travel agency located within the Hotel Premises provided us with a number of options on what to see and do and arranged an Auto-Rickshaw for us. The charge was a flat rate of Rs. 150. ($3)
As we had not had our breakfast, the driver stopped at a restaurant where we had breakfast. We proceeded to Sarnath, where Buddha preached his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. It was also here that the Emperor Ashoka (3rd Century B.C.) erected a Column (Obelisk) that had a 24-spoke wheel at the top with four lions standing atop it. This 24-Spoke wheel along with the 4 lions is now adopted as the emblem of Indian republic and adorns the flag and the currency.
The present day Sarnath contains numerous Buddhist Temples. Each of these temples are maintained by various countries (that have a strong Buddhist following). A Tibetan Buddhist Temple, a Japanese Buddhist Temple, A Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple and so on. The Tibetan Buddhist Temple also houses a Monastery as well as a very large statue of a Seated Buddha. The Sri Lankan Temple has one of the largest grounds in the area. The Area was milling with a lot of School Children, Pilgrims and the usual tourists.
After visiting the Temples, we visited the Archaeological Museum that contains the remains of the Ashoka Pillar (Obelisk) and numerous Statues of Buddha ranging from the 1st to the 11 Century A.D. The Authorities were charging Rs. 2 (4 Cents) as an entry fee to the Museum! And the way they were displaying and maintaining these priceless artifacts shocked me. I would certainly not mind them charging me a lot more and maintain these priceless artifacts properly.
I wish I could have spent more time here. Since the Rickshaw was hired only for a couple of hours, we decided to head back to the City after the visit to the Museum. We reached the hotel around 1:30 PM. As we did not want to pay Rs. 1200 (Approx. US$ 24) for the present room, we changed to a regular Air-conditioned room that cost us Rs. 700 (Approx. US$ 14). This room was certainly not as good as the Deluxe Air-conditioned room that we stayed in last night. As I was not earning in US$ or UK Pound Sterling (but in Paltry Aussie Dollars), I did not feel like spring the extra US$10 per night of stay. However, if you do earn in US$ or GB Pounds, go for the deluxe room!
As the Restaurant at the nearby Hotel India was quite expensive, we had Lunch at our hotel and rested until 4 PM. We walked to the Railway Station (10 Minutes away) and obtained an Auto Rickshaw for a fixed-fare of Rs.50 (US$ 1) to take us to Hanuman Ghat. Varanasi contains many Ghats on the Banks of the Ganges where people do ritual bathing. Though Auto-Rickshaws are metered, their usage is more an aberration than a custom.
The Traffic was quite Horrible. You certainly would need nerves of steel to drive in this area. No one worries about hitting / scraping nearby vehicles. They are willing to accept a couple of scratches to their vehicles as the price to get ahead in Traffic! After being dropped off by the Rickshaw, we walked to Hanuman Ghat. These Ghats are all situated on the banks of the river Ganges. Despite being an Indian, this was my first time here. It was quite a surreal feeling finally being here after seeing numerous pictures of the place.
The light fog and the boats on the river, along with the numerous Oil lamps set afloat on the river by the Pilgrims, truly enhanced the scenery.
Of all these Ghats, Harischandra Ghat is famous in a way. This is where bodies are cremated. The Hindus do not bury their dead. They cremate them. And cremating the bodies on the banks of the Ganges is considered auspicious. Though the government has built a new electric crematorium on the banks of the Ganges, some folks do not use them. Furthermore, if there are an excessive number of requests in a day, the attendants at the crematorium push the half-burned bodies into the river to make way for the next one. This is what many people (including me) find objectionable. Needless to say, the Government does not want to offend the religious sentiments of the people and turns a blind eye to the goings on here. The other Ghat where cremations are done is Manikarnika Ghat.
Anyway, after our little walk, we had an inexpensive dinner at a nearby restaurant that specialized in South Indian Food and shared an Auto-rickshaw back to the Train station. We were charged Rs.5 (10 Cents) per person! Guess as a round-trip, things evened out cost wise. We walked back to the Hotel from the Station where I wrote my diary for the day before turning in. |
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| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
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