Naked, dreadlocked holy men yesterday were among hundreds of thousands of jubilant Hindu pilgrims who thronged the banks of India’s Ganges River, ignoring any COVID-19 threat, for one of the nation’s most famous and colorful religious festivals.
Authorities in Haridwar expect 2.5 million people for the Maha Shivratri festival, one of three auspicious bathing days over the next month as part of a major gathering called the Kumbh Mela.
Before dawn, men, women and children jostled for space along the several kilometers of riverbank before a brief plunge in the fast-flowing water, singing hymns and showering flowers into the Ganges.
Photo: AFP
Later, the highlight was to be a jubilant procession by groups of hundreds of Naga Sadhus — naked holy men with long dreadlocks, their bodies smeared in ash — before their dip in the holy town nestled in the Himalayan foothills.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has curtailed the Kumbh Mela, a mass event held regularly in various cities, and negative test certificates are, in theory, compulsory.
Announcements on the public address system in Haridwar blared out reminders to wear masks and maintain distancing.
Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges would cleanse their sins and bring salvation.
Hindu mythology says that gods and demons fought a war over a sacred pitcher containing the nectar of immortality. Drops fell at four different locations, which now alternate as hosts for the immense Kumbh Mela gatherings.
Recognized as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2017, the last Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in 2019 attracted about 55 million people over 48 days.
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