Holy Hardwar! - rohit bhatia

Holy Haridwar!
Rohit Bhatia
“A tremendous display of faith”, said one of Mira’s friends in Delhi, as he added to my confused perspective of Kumbh Mela. You see, I had never been to Kumbh, which is the largest gathering of people anywhere in the world. Of course, I had heard about it but that’s it: only heard, never felt. When Mira and I left from Rishikesh – which is where we are staying – my head was full of expectations, apprehensions and occupied with the immediate issue of getting used to the bike having gears on the left side. My right leg is used to the shifting gears as the Enfield Bullet I own and ride in Bombay has gears on the right and brakes on the left. I was just about managing this demanding change in my riding reflexes.

For a rented bike, The Thunderbird we got is in good condition, except that it starts with a key that has Hero Honda written on it.

Mira has many plans. Too many. She kept me busy by thinking aloud all that she wanted to do on the first day. “First let’s get there. Then I want to do this. After that we will do that and then….”

By the time we got to Haridwar, the sun was up and it was warm. This made all the heavy woolens we carried redundant. Walking around with four bags of equipment at the banks of the Ganges while thousands of pilgrims walked around bathing, distributing alms, buying things and filling the holy water of the Ganges in small plastic containers was making my urbanized head spin.

Mira said, “Let’s get a press pass then I want to do this, then we will go there and after that….”
The saffron attire of sadhus with the bright green of the Ganges gave the visual hit that went along with the rest of the experience.

We spoke to sadhus and officials. We ate Paranthas. We argued.

We headed back to Rishikesh in the evening and I felt much better. The Ganges is tranquil in Rishikesh as compared to Haridwar, where it is harnessed towards ghats and such. I thought about the day’s experiences and have decided that I am going to take small doses of Kumbh.
As for Rishikesh and the Ganges, they are healing in more ways than one. The peaceful vibe here is a balm for the soul. I’m soaking it in.