Mark Twain visited in 1895 and had this to say: “It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites”.
“The cold whites” – love it.
It’s not all peace and love though… When the Kumbh Mela was held in Nashik, India in 2003, 39 pilgrims were trampled to death and 57 were injured. Devotees had gathered on the banks of the Godavari river for the maha snaanam or holy bath. Over 30,000 pilgrims were being held back by barricades in a narrow street leading to the Ramkund, a holy spot, so the sadhus could take the first ceremonial bath. Reportedly, a sadhu threw some silver coins into the crowd and the subsequent scramble led to the stampede.
The festival goes on for about 6 weeks in total and the medics see 500-800 people in their first aid tents every single day. There’s the problems with crushing, drowning and stampeding of course, but there’s also a higher number of sick people who attend these sorts of gatherings hoping for a miracle cure.
☛ More: Which Religions Are Moving Towards World Domination The Fastest?
