The Fort Worth Press - India to open giant Hindu festival for 400 million pilgrims

USD -
AED 3.673005
AFN 71.633316
ALL 90.514467
AMD 390.65139
ANG 1.790208
AOA 915.999764
ARS 1073.465799
AUD 1.65714
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.700836
BAM 1.785401
BBD 2.019937
BDT 121.550441
BGN 1.785075
BHD 0.376754
BIF 2973.60337
BMD 1
BND 1.347806
BOB 6.928063
BRL 5.875698
BSD 1.000438
BTN 85.886692
BWP 14.071636
BYN 3.273951
BYR 19600
BZD 2.009521
CAD 1.42773
CDF 2872.999986
CHF 0.855098
CLF 0.025537
CLP 979.971335
CNY 7.28155
CNH 7.32063
COP 4181.71
CRC 507.659163
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 100.658183
CZK 22.971007
DJF 178.152473
DKK 6.80587
DOP 62.916507
DZD 133.749023
EGP 51.414001
ERN 15
ETB 132.431441
EUR 0.911835
FJD 2.33325
FKP 0.774458
GBP 0.78036
GEL 2.750018
GGP 0.774458
GHS 15.452654
GIP 0.774458
GMD 71.461814
GNF 8678.171978
GTQ 7.716396
GYD 210.180705
HKD 7.768595
HNL 25.664557
HRK 6.874494
HTG 132.979117
HUF 370.361432
IDR 16564.219442
ILS 3.78457
IMP 0.774458
INR 85.509498
IQD 1310.323621
IRR 42002.601119
ISK 132.195716
JEP 0.774458
JMD 157.23621
JOD 0.708982
JPY 146.443502
KES 129.479403
KGS 86.768703
KHR 3998.590514
KMF 449.018129
KPW 900
KRW 1459.452089
KWD 0.307805
KYD 0.820006
KZT 509.574919
LAK 21651.680698
LBP 90271.085203
LKR 295.427831
LRD 199.886597
LSL 19.092298
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.834961
MAD 9.536033
MDL 17.531802
MGA 4651.707636
MKD 56.07975
MMK 2099.820881
MNT 3508.612
MOP 8.007644
MRU 39.915707
MUR 44.569601
MVR 15.459708
MWK 1733.371401
MXN 20.6776
MYR 4.436766
MZN 63.616338
NAD 19.092298
NGN 1529.461127
NIO 36.624561
NOK 10.903425
NPR 136.879329
NZD 1.791858
OMR 0.384998
PAB 1
PEN 3.678499
PGK 4.09838
PHP 57.408042
PKR 280.344053
PLN 3.889526
PYG 8053.790242
QAR 3.63979
RON 4.543598
RSD 106.910099
RUB 84.501385
RWF 1410.241694
SAR 3.749796
SBD 8.499799
SCR 14.818833
SDG 598.970435
SEK 10.100975
SGD 1.345922
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.749817
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 569.536574
SRD 36.514556
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.750208
SYP 13001.844432
SZL 19.092298
THB 34.326544
TJS 10.894584
TMT 3.49741
TND 3.056507
TOP 2.404412
TRY 38.011085
TTD 6.730946
TWD 33.205802
TZS 2665.572985
UAH 41.467776
UGX 3656.587596
UYU 42.236311
UZS 12920.507366
VES 71.363877
VND 25782.587407
VUV 122.117563
WST 2.799576
XAF 598.690839
XAG 0.033317
XAU 0.00033
XCD 2.7
XDR 0.746748
XOF 598.690839
XPF 108.913878
YER 245.471684
ZAR 19.39803
ZMK 9001.201138
ZMW 27.90088
ZWL 321.999592
  • RYCEF

    -1.5500

    8.25

    -18.79%

  • CMSC

    0.0300

    22.29

    +0.13%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    22.71

    +0.22%

  • RBGPF

    69.0200

    69.02

    +100%

  • BCC

    0.8100

    95.44

    +0.85%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.68

    -0.56%

  • NGG

    -3.4600

    65.93

    -5.25%

  • RIO

    -3.7600

    54.67

    -6.88%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • JRI

    -0.8600

    11.96

    -7.19%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    22.83

    +0.7%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

  • BTI

    -2.0600

    39.86

    -5.17%

  • BP

    -2.9600

    28.38

    -10.43%

  • GSK

    -2.4800

    36.53

    -6.79%

India to open giant Hindu festival for 400 million pilgrims
India to open giant Hindu festival for 400 million pilgrims / Photo: © AFP

India to open giant Hindu festival for 400 million pilgrims

Vast crowds of Hindu pilgrims in India readied on Monday to bathe in sacred waters for the Kumbh Mela festival, with organisers expecting 400 million people -- the largest gathering of humanity.

Text size:

The millennia-old Kumbh Mela, a sacred show of religious piety and ritual bathing -- and a logistical challenge of staggering proportions -- is held at the site where the holy Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.

Businesswoman Reena Rai's voice quivered with excitement as she spoke about her "religious reasons" that brought her to join the sprawling tents, packed along the river banks in the north Indian city of Prayagraj.

"As a Hindu, this is an unmissable occasion," the 38-year-old said, who travelled around 1,000 kilometres (625 miles) from Madhya Pradesh state to take part in the festival, which runs from Monday until February 26.

Saffron-robed monks and naked ash-smeared ascetics roamed the crowds offering blessings to devotees, many of whom walked for weeks to reach the site.

- 'Scale of preparations' -

Organisers say the scale of the Kumbh Mela is that of a temporary country -- with numbers expected to total more than the combined populations of the United States and Canada.

"Some 350 to 400 million devotees are going to visit the mela, so you can imagine the scale of preparations," festival spokesman Vivek Chaturvedi said ahead of the opening.

Hindu monks carrying huge flags of their respective sects began marching towards the river on Sunday evening.

Tractors turned into chariots carrying life-size idols of Hindu gods rolled by behind them, accompanied by elephants, as pilgrims exulted in the beat of drums and honking horns.

There is no formal opening ceremony, but it is expected to begin in the cold hours before dawn when pilgrims surge forward to begin bathing in the waters.

The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.

Organising authorities are calling it the great, or "Maha" Kumbh Mela.

- 'One with god' -

The riverside in Prayagraj has turned into a mammoth sea of tents -- some luxury, others simple tarpaulins.

Jaishree Ben Shahtilal took three days to reach the holy site, journeying with her neighbours from Gujarat state in a convoy of 11 buses over three days.

"I have great faith in god," she said. "I have waited for so long to bathe in the holy river."

Around 150,000 toilets have been built and a network of community kitchens can each feed up to 50,000 people at the same time.

Another 68,000 LED light poles have been erected for a gathering so large that its bright lights can be seen from space.

The last celebration at the site, the "ardh" or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to the government.

That compares to an estimated 1.8 million Muslims who take part in the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Indian police said they were "conducting relentless day-and-night patrols to ensure top-notch security" for the event.

Authorities and the police have also set up a network of "lost and found" centres and an accompanying phone app to help pilgrims lost in the immense crowd "to reunite with their families".

India is the world's most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people, and so is used to large crowds.

Many pilgrims began taking dips in the chilly water on Sunday, braving rain, with temperatures on the banks dropping to around 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) overnight.

But many pilgrims threw off their plastic sheets, insisting rain only added to the "pious mood" of the fair.

"Once you are in the water, you don't even feel cold," said 56-year-old devotee Chandrakant Nagve Patel. "I felt like I was one with god."

Hindus believe bathing there during the Kumbh helps cleanse sins and brings salvation.

Government employee Bhawani Baneree, who had come from the western state of Maharashtra, said the "vibrant atmosphere" had made his long journey worthwhile.

"Everything is so beautiful", he said.

M.Cunningham--TFWP