Millions gather for Hindu festival

ABC News, AFP

Hundreds of ash-covered, naked holy men and millions of Hindu pilgrims are making their way to northern India to take part in one of the world’s largest religious gatherings.

For Hindu devotees, the three-month Kumbh Mela, which begins Thursday in the towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh, offers the chance to wash away their sins with a ritual bath in the holy waters of the Ganges river.

Even in a country where mass events are commonplace, the Kumbh Mela stands apart for its sheer size and the enormous logistical task involved in its organisation.

“Putting on the Kumbh Mela is like setting up a city within a city,” said Alok Sharma, director general of this year’s event.

An area of 130 square kilometres has been set aside to host the five million pilgrims expected to participate in the first of four auspicious bathing dates on January 14.

Millions more will pass through the site as the festival unfolds, with the largest gathering of all expected on the final and most auspicious bathing day of all on April 14, which is led by the naked Naga sadhus (saints).

The Mela marks the only public gathering of the Nagas, many of whom live in remote, spartan conditions in mountains, caves and communes in the Himalayas and other regions of India.

The highest ranked among them will ride in chariots decorated with marigolds and pulled by tractors, while others follow behind carrying swords, tridents and saffron flags.

Naked and generally covered in a layer of grey ash, they are regarded by devotees as earthly representatives of the gods because of their self-sacrifice and denial of the material world.

Their isolation does not, however, prevent their organising for particular causes and they plan to use the 2010 Kumbh Mela to highlight the issue of global warming.

“Sadhus like us who go up to the higher reaches of the Himalayas to meditate have a clear picture of how bad the situation is,” Soham Baba, considered as the head of the Nagas, said recently.

“Pristine lakes and waterfalls that existed till a few years ago have dried up.

“The Kumbh Mela will be the appropriate place to protest.”