=kit018.txt

KIT 18 - Khumba Mela Invitation

Every twelve years, rishis, sannyasins, sadhus, and the masses of
pilgrims from all walks of life converge upon Hardwar (a six hour
car ride from Delhi) at the "unction of two rivers for a sacred
ceremony; the ritual bathing in the Ganges in the slender hope of
capturing maybe one precious drop of the Ambrosia that Shiva
inadvertently dropped into the Ganges when the devil tried to
snatch it from him after he had distilled it from the churning of
the ocean of space.

The search for the ambrosia that confers immortality has spumed
alchemy from the beginnings of civilization. Pilgrims flock to the
sacred site by the thousands - I believe 25,000 was the count at
the last event - and it is likely to escalate considerably at the
forthcoming festival scheduled to climax on April 13th, 1986.
Attendance builds up vertiginously as the auspicious day draws
nigh, so that one inevitably finds oneself pushed and battered in
the crowd as tension mounts. Some decades ago, the crowd was
stomped by a mad elephant causing thou-sands of casualties, so you
see, one does go there at one's own risk These days, mad elephants
are not admitted, only mad people, like those who would elect to
go there at that chosen time. That is you and 1, if you are one of
those venturesome and reckless idealists who brave death for a
moment of ecstasy.

This unusual but recurring event takes place every twelve years
when Jupiter is in the Pleiades, which rather significantly was
precisely the time for which Ulysses waited in the cave of Circea
before embarking upon his Odyssey towards Atlantis. Behind that
populous scene - a kind of Indian Coney Island Fair, I regret to
say - something momentous happens. Some of the great rishis of the
Himalayas descend from their caves, sometimes brushing shoulders
with people for the first time since twelve years of self-imposed
solitary confinement. At the apogee, a grand procession marches by
to the rapt delight of the onlookers who are lucky enough to
maneuver themselves in the right place by shouldering their way
through the crowd. Imagine a crowd of 25,000 people congested like
sardines, boisterous, excited, unruly, observing a moment of pent-
up silence while the "mahatmas", (great ones) take their time in
bathing in the holy waters of the Ganges.

This is the most impressive moment and the culmination of the
whole ceremony, followed by prayers and mantrams. But one would be
lucky if one were able to see anything at all. Perhaps you will
only experience being pushed about and harassed by the crowd. So
think twice before taking that chance!

However, there are more ingratiating moments one might enjoy,
particularly in the early morning while wandering at dawn at the
bank of the Ganges, watching a few pilgrims bathe and say their
prayers, walking in the bazaar or the premises of the fair and
encountering the most odd assortment of ascetics; some weird,
covered with cinders or exhibiting rather far-out headdresses,
attire, or non-attire, odd adornments, waving flags and sporting
rather ominous weapons fitted with bells to ward off bears or
panthers in the mountain vastness. Amongst these, perhaps, a sage
with light in his eyes, nobility in his demeanor and realization
in his glance, begging as an ordinary beggar yet so inspiring.
That is what you came for but you could return without having come
across one. It depends upon your luck, or maybe you will attract
the being you are supposed to encounter.

Perhaps you came to realize that you did not have to go so far to
find what is at your doorstep, less exotic but perhaps more
relevant. But there are times when one needs to call a break from
the familiar and explore the far-flung reaches of our humanity,
sample a taste of the unfamiliar, go through the trauma of a
cultural shock and perhaps, cull some precious jewels of
civilizations in transit that have not yet eliminated the fruit
belabored through eons of traditions now ranked as obsolete and
replaced in the West by the plastic gadgetry, technology, the
standardization, sanitation, functional and rather conditioned
life-style of western civilizations which, however, you might be
glad to return to after all.

One thing is certain: you go there at your own risk! We cannot
guarantee against the hazard of political demonstrations leading
to violence although we are told that tensions have eased in this
respect and the army will be there to ensure order. There is a
health hazard when masses congregate and the current vaccines do
not immunize one from certain forms of hepatitis or viral
infections or even the plague, last but not least, rabies.
Besides, taking anti-malarian tablets is quite taxing. But we are
trying to set up a camp with reliable water and a hygienic kitchen
and organize accommodations to minimize hazards.

So now that you are somewhat informed, come and join us if you are
foolhardy enough!   

================================================================

