These participants were in conversation with Harish Trivedi where they deliberated upon the research works they are doing on Kumbh.
The first session on the last day of JLF saw an interesting discussion on Kumbh, a pilgrimage with largest gathering on earth, where millions of people visit with just one purpose: spiritual growth and liberation. The participants at the session Daniela Bevilacqua, who is doing a project on Hatha Yoga, Deshna Mehta and Sanjana Nanodkar who have painstakingly compiled their documentation in eight books on Nasik, Ujjain and Prayagraj Kumbh. The fourth participant James Mallinson is a Sanskrit scholar and has spent many years in India living with sadhus and yogis. He was awarded the title of ‘mahant’ by the Ramanandi Sampradaya at 2013 Kumbh.
These participants were in conversation with Harish Trivedi where they deliberated upon the research works they are doing on Kumbh.
Deshna Mehta and Sanjana Nanodkar talked about how their teams went about documenting the huge congregation of pilgrims.
The question of where the Kumbh is being held also came up during the discussion where Trivedi, who is from Allahabad, told the audience that it is being held in Prayagraj and it cannot be held in Allahabad. He went on to add that as the name Allahabad was coined in the times of Akbar and before that it was Prayagraj. But Allahabad has been a dominant name, while Prayagraj is not a recent invention, he added. To make his point he cited excerpts from Ramayana and also from autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru.
While talking about her work Dianela said, “I do research on sadhus and Kumbh is the best place for it. This apart Kumbh is a private experience too for me. Intense experience of my life has been the 2013 Kumbh in Allahabad where the river of human beings going to take a bath looks so overwhelming.” Taking bath and attending the Shahi Snan has been an incredible experience for me, she added.
During the Kumbh any one can sit next to a sadhu and ask questions on various issues and get enlightened. We don’t realise this but this meeting impacts a lot of people. Sadly these days many people are asking for selfies with these sadhus instead of questions, she added.
James called it as purvajanam ka sanskar (past life) that made him get attracted to the Indian philosophy and met a yogi at the banks of Narmada river. He made him his guru and since then he has attended all the Kumbh.
James then talked about the akhadas and their bathing order that they follow to avoid any confrontation. Is fixed He found it very incredible and progressive significant that for the first time an akhara of kinnars (transgenders) got recognition at kumbh. This act will resonate globally as it is hot topic world over and India did a great thing in institutionalising the transgender people.
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 "Daniela Bevilacqua")
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