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!
