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Pilgrims in the Street
Three months into the last Haridwar Kumbh Mela, crowds of pilgrims were still pouring into the city – pausing briefly to gaze directly into my camera.
The crush of humanity heading to and from the Ganges through the streets of Haridwar seems unimaginable now.
Haridwar, in Uttarakhand in North India, flanks the holy River Ganges as it flows south and east out of the Western Himalaya. The city has a population of just over 310,000 (2011), but when I was there (with photographers Gavin Gough and Matt Brandon) in 2010, an additional 10 million people were streaming through the streets to take a ritual bath in the river: for Haridwar is a sacred city and is one of the four sites of the Kumbh Mela.
The Kumbh Mela, literally the Festival of the Sacred Pitcher, happens roughly every four years on rotation across Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Trimbak (Nashik), and Ujjain. It is a major pilgrimage festival in Hinduism (e.g.: Sadhus, Smoke and Street Food) that includes rituals, religious discussions, devotional singing, and traditional ceremonies. One of the most important rituals is bathing in the holy river waters.
Bathing rituals in Hinduism go back to time immemorial, and the exact origins of the festival in the current format are unclear. But, large gatherings of religious significance have been taking place in auspicious sites for centuries. In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was called by UNESCO “the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth”, and inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
I’ve said it before: returning to old photos is always risky. As I look at the settings on some of these – taken on a camera I no longer own – I can’t help but wonder: “What was I thinking?” But, for all their flaws, they represent a time and place, and remind me how much I miss the wonderfully photogenic people of India.
Of course, unlike in some parts of the world, wandering around with a camera in India can make you a bit of a Pied Piper: at one stage I had people literally lining up to have their pictures taken. For many of these pilgrims, this would have been their only trip to a Mela, and they all wanted this event recorded – even if that record was by me, a stranger whom they would never see again! Thank heavens for digital images.
Join me for some more portraits from the crowded streets of Haridwar:
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Sadhus and their Chai
Although the pilgrims in the Haridwar streets were from all walks of life, the sadhus – the Hindu holy men – were the most common and the most colourful.
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Sadhu in White
I was drawn to their kind faces …
Sadhu Necklace
… and fascinated by the variety of iconography they wore or carried.
Women
India is street-portrait heaven! People are so generous with their smiles.
Sadhu in Red and Orange
The colour and style of a sadhu’s robes and the design of his tilaka (forehead markings) tell the initiated something about the sect he belongs to. I never cracked the code!
Sadhu in Yellow and Orange
Most of the pilgrims had their kumbhs – Sanskrit for a pitcher or pot – with them. This was to carry water from the Ganges back home again.
Woman into Haridwar
How I wished I could converse more easily with these pilgrims; …
Old Woman and her Company
… their faces were full of stories!
Women Carrying Loads
Many had travelled great distances, with their luggage on their heads, …
Water Carrier
… and containers for the holy waters.
Pilgrim in White
Masala Chai
Blind Singers
Having seen Slumdog Millionaire, wherein street children are blinded to make them more effective beggars, I couldn’t help but worry about how these performers had come by their sightlessness.
Woman in Yellow
There is a contrast between the elegantly monochrome …
Colourful Sadhu
… and the flamboyantly colourful …
Couple in Yellow
… as the pilgrims keep coming.
Cows
And, of course, it wouldn’t be India without cows wandering through the rubbish in the streets.
A Woman and her Man
Man in Yellow and Grey
A stern-looking husband was happy enough to share a chai and a chat.
Woman in Orange
His smiling wife opted for a soft drink.
Friends
Many people tried to tell me how far they had travelled, but my knowledge of Indian towns and cities was not up to understanding the distances; I could only say “wow!” and try to look impressed.
Hennaed Hands
Henna is associated with positive spirits and good luck, and many of the women walking into town were beautifully decorated.
White Dreadlocks
The pilgrims kept coming …
Man in a Doorway
… and the locals kept watch.
Textured Walls
Today, after almost a year of Social Distancing here in Australia – and across much of the world – the idea of having roughly 10 million people walking through one’s city is almost inconceivable.
This year’s Kumbh Mela is in Haridwar again, and again began on 14th January. I can’t help but wonder how different it must be,
Stay Safe!
Photos: 13-14April2010
Ursula – Love the site and your posts. Having been fortunate to have visited many of the places you have visited, seeing the images and reading your take on the places brings back fabulous memories for me. Thank you.
Hi Kent – I’m so pleased to have your visit, and very glad I can remind you of those days when we could actually travel to wonderful places! 😀