The Hindu Pilgrims of the Kumbh Mela – Part One

Pilgrim bathes in the cold water of the “sacred” river.

My trip to Hardiwar was in 2010 but I wanted to share my impressions with my STORIES FROM ASIA readers….

We started in the cold darkness to take a taxi from Dehra Dun in the northern state Uttarakhand to Haridwar, 35 miles away. The taxi delivered us to a staging area 5 miles from the actual bathing area. I never thought I’d be so cold in India. We took a man-powered rickshaw for the first segment. I could see the puffs of his labored breaths as he took us a couple of miles. I was amazed by the number of people who had already been to the Ganga (Ganges) River for the ritual bath that is supposed to take away their sins at the Kumbh Mela.. Most were shivering in the early morning air…

The Hindu Pilgrims of the Kumbh Mela – Part Two

Man waiting to take the ritual bath

The Indian government’s efforts to control what was supposed to be a million dippers today turned out to be unneeded. This Kumbh Mela was different from 12 years ago as luxury camps were set up and tour busses dropped off the wealthier folk right next to the Ganga River for their holy dip. Stockades were contructed to slow down crowd movement – sort of like the way they do at airport check-in counters, weaving back and forth. I found myself in such a security stockade now as we worked our way to a place where we could see the special dip of the thousands of Sadhus and their smaller counterpart, the Nagas.

The Hindu Pilgrims of the Kumbh Mela – Part Three

As we made our way back to the ghats or bathing areas I noticed strings of beads like dried and wrinkled apricots in many of the shops. JG told me they are Rudraksh seeds and are a charm against all sorts of sickness and evil. Most of these hanging were the fakes most Hindus would wear as the real Rudraksh seeds are quite expensive they are kept in a locked case. These seeds are all the more precious if a priest would bless them – for a fee of course!

Testimonies from the field: Rebuking the Insects

Burmese farmer

My name is “J”. I am 36 years old and have two daughters and one son. We had believed in Buddhism all our lives. My husband is a farmer and we all work together on the farm. On our farm we grow flowers, mainly: roses, daisies and broccoli vegetables. We sell our produce at a market seven miles away.

Last year some National Pioneers came to our farm telling us the good news. All our family were very glad to hear this good news. We renounced our former gods and worshipping Buddha. Then we believed in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, even though some our neighbours criticized us strongly.

Testimonies from the Field – Indonesia

Indonesian Man

Pray for some new believers, mostly youth, who have been imprisoned for nearly a month now due to “Christianising” Muslims in a small town in the west of the most populous island. Pray also for unity as a colleague has slandered another leader for creating “Rice Christians” through financial incentives. These lies cause confusion and distrust in communities of believers that are already under pressure from unbelievers and do not need the added stress of disunity and personal attacks from within.

Meera’s Story

A young woman in Mumbai outside the Gateway of India.

Meera (now 35) was born a Hindu in a poor dysfunctional Indian family. Meera’s real father left her Mom pregnant and she was almost aborted. Life was tough for Meera and her family. Since the family was poor and there was no provider her mother stayed with a man whom Meera was forced to call father. But this man did not see Meera as a daughter and she was sent to a job in a small store at a very young age.

The owner of the store raped her and she was taken to the hospital that registered a case against the rapist.

The Farmer’s Dilemma

Mohan Lal and his wife Anju are impoverished farmers in this northwestern Indian state of Rajsathan. Mohan and Anju (not their real names) have four children and came to the conclusion that suicide was the only way out of the shame and poverty of their lives in rural Rajsathan. They had sacrificed and prayed to the small area of Hindu idols in their home. No answer, the cycle of poverty continued and they had no hope that anything would ever change. They decided to drink some of the insecticide and end it all. As they were preparing, the electrical power in the whole area went off and their house fell into darkness and their television flickered off….

The Story of Omeet and Bindu

Omeet, a Sikh convert is baptised in Chennai.

Omeet Shergill is a poor Sikh lad from Mukhtsar District, in the Indian state of Punjab. He is a self taught song and scriptwriter who was working as a typist at a small document shop near the college where Parvinder Kaur attended. Parvinder (or Bindu) came into the shop to have a paper typed and they started talking. She was from a village near his but they had never met. There were a couple of barriers to their relationship. She was from a higher cast as her parents are landowners and Omeet’s father a laborer in the cotton fields and a children’s bus driver.

Love won out and 2 years later they married without her parents permission and moved into Omeet’s parent’s home.

Paul’s Story

I met Paul* yesterday. Paul is a convert from Islam to Christianity from a minority ethnic group in another country. He fled his country because he was concerned he would be thrown back into jail like many of his countrymen.

Benny’s Story

_1790285″ src=”https://asiastories.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/460_17902851.jpg?w=150″ alt=”460>_1790285″ width=”97″ height=”84″>I was raised up as a normal, a typical Malay family. The parents are obliged to send you to Madrasa or to a grammar school. We were taught how to pray. Do not miss your prayers, fast when you need to fast, you should