Author: Rajiv Chandran
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 8, 2001
Visiting the Maha Kumbh Mela definitely
rates as one of the most profound experiences for my dancer-wife Geeta
and yours truly. To behold the throbbing energy and fervour of millions
of common people who had trudged on foot from their distant villages, propelled
merely by faith, was astounding. A mela of truly gargantuan proportions
bound by the single theme of faith. Faith in whatever moved you and your
brother and sister. Faith in the infinite. Faith in being alive. An act
of reverent thanksgiving. And immersion in the river as an act of spiritual
ablution and reinvigoration. But also immersing oneself in the river of
life that the Kumbh represents. Beyond this effervescent religious fervour,
the Kumbh had many serious lessons for all of us to learn. It was a wonderful
mirror through which we could assess ourselves and probe who we really
are.
The first lesson is that if we gear
ourselves up, then virtually nothing is impossible. The coordination and
planning undertaken by the UP administration was highly praiseworthy. The
entire mela area was neatly laid out in planned avenues and streets on
the floor of the Ganga river. The high banks on either side enclosed the
mela space. Temporary roads of clamped metal sheets made travel on the
streets simple and comfortable. The pontoon bridges regulating pedestrian
traffic and motor vehicles were well regulated and traffic was constantly
moving. Electricity supply was regulated (switched on precisely at 5 p.m.
and constant until 7.30 in the morning), phones worked, STD and ISD booths
peppered the mela-scape, all ashrams and akharas had access to running
water.
The second lesson is that we are
a clean nation, and don't let western standards and propaganda lead us
to believe otherwise. Despite this huge mass of humanity making temporary
residence in the Kumbh mela, the entire place was spotlessly clean. Aided
by thousands of sweepers and cleaners hired by the administration, there
was no garbage, no plastic bags strewn carelessly, no stink and no defecation
in the open. Simple age-old practices of hygiene ensured that touring the
entire mela was a pleasurable experience.
The third lesson is that despite
the variations in beliefs and the contrasts in faith, we are a tolerant
nation. People of incredible social, economic and sectarian divergence
lived peacefully with one another. Clearly, our root heritage shuns violence
and is built on the foundation of tolerance.
Fourth, that we share freely. The
amazing bonhomie amongst the pilgrims was a feeling that had to be experienced
to be believed. Helping others cross difficult portions of the pontoon
bridges, helping co-bathers through their snan, sharing every bit of prasad
and food with everyone else, the element of all pervasive human cooperation
was most evident in every human interaction at the Kumbh.
The fifth and most important lesson
is that while we are still a poor nation, poverty has not dehumanised us.
Humanism was an inherent quality. Material poverty -- and yes, we are ever
so poor and even wretched -- is compensated by an abundance of cultural
wealth and a shared common heritage. We may be a nation of poor people,
but we are not an impoverished people. We sing. We break spontaneously
into dance. We laugh and smile. The cultural context in which Indian poverty
finds its own redemption needs study.
The Kumbh mela radiated an incredible
optimism for the future and for the people of India. It reiterated our
ability to retain our humanity in even the most trying circumstances. The
Kumbh is a symbol that India is alive and well, that it lives only in its
people and in their faith that tomorrow will be a better day. And while
we all await that new dawn, let us sneak another dip at the holy sangam!
