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

USD -
AED 3.673035
AFN 71.323752
ALL 89.53094
AMD 391.220403
ANG 1.790208
AOA 916.000367
ARS 1073.553904
AUD 1.656644
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.766685
BBD 2.011533
BDT 121.061023
BGN 1.79063
BHD 0.376957
BIF 2961.474188
BMD 1
BND 1.332099
BOB 6.885493
BRL 5.827404
BSD 0.996193
BTN 84.992526
BWP 13.874477
BYN 3.260694
BYR 19600
BZD 2.001147
CAD 1.421295
CDF 2873.000362
CHF 0.861245
CLF 0.025114
CLP 963.730396
CNY 7.28155
CNH 7.28834
COP 4210.53
CRC 503.907996
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 99.605696
CZK 23.03904
DJF 177.720393
DKK 6.81224
DOP 62.907224
DZD 133.59404
EGP 50.591504
ERN 15
ETB 131.300523
EUR 0.912925
FJD 2.314904
FKP 0.762682
GBP 0.774585
GEL 2.750391
GGP 0.762682
GHS 15.48644
GIP 0.762682
GMD 72.139607
GNF 8645.949925
GTQ 7.693185
GYD 209.183137
HKD 7.774975
HNL 25.577483
HRK 6.878904
HTG 130.793752
HUF 364.387873
IDR 16744.473258
ILS 3.746145
IMP 0.762682
INR 85.338154
IQD 1306.506853
IRR 42336.988543
ISK 130.567142
JEP 0.762682
JMD 157.094395
JOD 0.70904
JPY 147.21804
KES 129.238254
KGS 86.692362
KHR 3971.595158
KMF 445.147581
KPW 899.928114
KRW 1451.374019
KWD 0.307615
KYD 0.83156
KZT 501.917416
LAK 21606.921497
LBP 89544.522786
LKR 295.184792
LRD 199.781411
LSL 18.739948
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.82245
MAD 9.516652
MDL 17.902827
MGA 4631.875059
MKD 56.260592
MMK 2099.545327
MNT 3504.730669
MOP 8.010542
MRU 39.660628
MUR 45.370989
MVR 15.441096
MWK 1732.00408
MXN 20.438104
MYR 4.442621
MZN 63.8826
NAD 18.739948
NGN 1536.123004
NIO 36.754903
NOK 10.75399
NPR 136.60505
NZD 1.788861
OMR 0.384952
PAB 1
PEN 3.666345
PGK 4.106218
PHP 57.053122
PKR 279.986588
PLN 3.82525
PYG 7937.001208
QAR 3.640374
RON 4.504564
RSD 106.000243
RUB 84.082892
RWF 1417.183198
SAR 3.750373
SBD 8.499278
SCR 14.328056
SDG 600.377285
SEK 10.016855
SGD 1.334705
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.750371
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 569.677964
SRD 36.564761
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.75037
SYP 13001.416834
SZL 18.739948
THB 34.107305
TJS 10.883523
TMT 3.497769
TND 3.055277
TOP 2.408314
TRY 37.985795
TTD 6.752072
TWD 33.07735
TZS 2654.318194
UAH 41.285264
UGX 3652.036928
UYU 42.304314
UZS 12908.018961
VES 70.043118
VND 25805.374257
VUV 123.606268
WST 2.823884
XAF 593.530108
XAG 0.033825
XAU 0.000331
XCD 2.707263
XDR 0.753961
XOF 593.530108
XPF 107.975038
YER 245.884458
ZAR 19.08851
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.959236
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    1.0200

    69.02

    +1.48%

  • AZN

    -5.4600

    68.46

    -7.98%

  • RYCEF

    -1.3000

    8.5

    -15.29%

  • CMSC

    0.0600

    22.32

    +0.27%

  • BTI

    -2.0500

    39.87

    -5.14%

  • RELX

    -3.2800

    48.16

    -6.81%

  • RIO

    -3.7700

    54.66

    -6.9%

  • GSK

    -2.4900

    36.52

    -6.82%

  • VOD

    -0.8700

    8.5

    -10.24%

  • NGG

    -3.4200

    65.97

    -5.18%

  • SCS

    -0.0450

    10.695

    -0.42%

  • BP

    -2.9450

    28.395

    -10.37%

  • BCC

    0.7700

    95.4

    +0.81%

  • CMSD

    0.1800

    22.85

    +0.79%

  • BCE

    0.0600

    22.72

    +0.26%

  • JRI

    -0.9000

    11.92

    -7.55%

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