Okay, we did it. We along with 20 million others (official figures) went to bathe in the Ganges today (yes,"today" not "this kumhb.") Today was the most auspicious day of the Kumhb for this. Modes of transport (this seems to be an emerging theme) that made this possible: military row boat out the Yamuna River to its convergence with the Ganges, and military jeep.
"Military?" you might ask. Yes, military. Turns out that a member of our group has a cousin who is best friends with the B. General, and through him has struck up a friendship with the Colonel. The cousin's wife asked the Colonel if he would arrange special passage for her husband's cousin for bathing in the Ganges today. He agreed so easily that she then asked if he might accommodate all six of us. And again he agreed.
So the day began with tea with the Colonel at the army headquarters, then a military escort through town (this means through streets clogged with walking pilgrims and animals and every type of vehicle with wheels that move) ignoring check points and "for official vehicles only" barricades. Because of the bombings in Hyderabad, these were very real barriers to other vehicles and took both hours and many km off our trek. It still took all day.
Eventually we reached a point where the vehicle was simply too big to proceed any further so we covered the last four to five miles mostly on foot. Had a brief shouting match with a bicycle rickshaw driver myself when he wanted to be paid twice but that was quickly resolved by our Hindi speaking cousin's wife.
Finally we reached the military boat launch, where we were all rowed out to the military float in the middle of the river. It was a combination of changing rooms for after you bathed in the river (fully dressed if female), armed guards to monitor the hundreds of thousands in the river at any given time plus the hundreds of boats going back and forth, and ladders down the side for those who needed assistance getting in and out the of the water. Only the special military guest were allowed to use these facilities. The multitudes were confined to the banks on either side of the two rivers.
In theory, the water in the center was cleaner than the waters near the banks. And that was easy to believe, because on either bank no land could be the seen--just a sea of bodies watching for their turn to bathe. With all the recent rain, the water was murky but had none of the foul odor that it often has near Delhi.
So in we went. Offered up whatever we wished to be washed away from our lives, and rejoiced in a gorgeous day. Flowers and coconuts were floating around the boats (offerings from earlier pilgrims), holy men were blessing bathers, and the atmosphere was really charged with the reverence with which so many millions had entered the Ganges in the past two weeks.
Tired but happy we returned to the boat dock, where a military jeep met us to ferry us back to our van. We had to be packed in Indian style in order to be in a vehicle small enough to negotiate the streets but we did get back without much walking. And it only took several more hours to complete the final five miles back. We stopped briefly to meet the cousin's family and of course for more tea, and returned to the hotel in time for a late dinner.
The rest of the trip should be much more relaxed. But I am so glad I experienced the Kumhb 2013! To have walked where so many saints, including our own gurus, have walked. It was an experience of a lifetime.
"Military?" you might ask. Yes, military. Turns out that a member of our group has a cousin who is best friends with the B. General, and through him has struck up a friendship with the Colonel. The cousin's wife asked the Colonel if he would arrange special passage for her husband's cousin for bathing in the Ganges today. He agreed so easily that she then asked if he might accommodate all six of us. And again he agreed.
So the day began with tea with the Colonel at the army headquarters, then a military escort through town (this means through streets clogged with walking pilgrims and animals and every type of vehicle with wheels that move) ignoring check points and "for official vehicles only" barricades. Because of the bombings in Hyderabad, these were very real barriers to other vehicles and took both hours and many km off our trek. It still took all day.
Eventually we reached a point where the vehicle was simply too big to proceed any further so we covered the last four to five miles mostly on foot. Had a brief shouting match with a bicycle rickshaw driver myself when he wanted to be paid twice but that was quickly resolved by our Hindi speaking cousin's wife.
Finally we reached the military boat launch, where we were all rowed out to the military float in the middle of the river. It was a combination of changing rooms for after you bathed in the river (fully dressed if female), armed guards to monitor the hundreds of thousands in the river at any given time plus the hundreds of boats going back and forth, and ladders down the side for those who needed assistance getting in and out the of the water. Only the special military guest were allowed to use these facilities. The multitudes were confined to the banks on either side of the two rivers.
In theory, the water in the center was cleaner than the waters near the banks. And that was easy to believe, because on either bank no land could be the seen--just a sea of bodies watching for their turn to bathe. With all the recent rain, the water was murky but had none of the foul odor that it often has near Delhi.
So in we went. Offered up whatever we wished to be washed away from our lives, and rejoiced in a gorgeous day. Flowers and coconuts were floating around the boats (offerings from earlier pilgrims), holy men were blessing bathers, and the atmosphere was really charged with the reverence with which so many millions had entered the Ganges in the past two weeks.
Tired but happy we returned to the boat dock, where a military jeep met us to ferry us back to our van. We had to be packed in Indian style in order to be in a vehicle small enough to negotiate the streets but we did get back without much walking. And it only took several more hours to complete the final five miles back. We stopped briefly to meet the cousin's family and of course for more tea, and returned to the hotel in time for a late dinner.
The rest of the trip should be much more relaxed. But I am so glad I experienced the Kumhb 2013! To have walked where so many saints, including our own gurus, have walked. It was an experience of a lifetime.
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