5 states, 12 cities: What Kanwar Yatra 2025 tells us about modern bhakti

India Today

6 days ago

The curtain falls on this year's Kanwar Yatra, one of India's most popular pilgrimages. While faith drives the journey, of course, rising incidents of violence and vandalism beg the question: what's behind the burdened shoulders of those who embark on the long, strenuous journey?Outside the yatra, they are bike mechanics, AC technicians, small business owners, street vendors, homemakers, retired workers and even engineers. But during the pilgrimage, they are showered with rose petals and flanked by police escorts.advertisementWhile some walk to promote and preserve their culture, the health and well-being of their families, some walk for unity, peace, and the betterment of the country. India Today spoke to hundreds of these devotees across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand to understand what drives them.
Mithun Kumar, a 19-year-old fisherman from Supaul village, embarked on the Kanwar Yatra with no planning - just faith. Budhan, all of 15 and unlettered, completed his yatra without a pause because he felt a calling two years ago.For Sikandar Sah, 55, who has been walking in the yatra for over four decades, and Shivendra Poddar, 39, who helped start a local yatra in Bihar's Balwahat, the drive was both faith and inner joy. They were all, in other words, united by a pull toward Lord Shiva.But they don't come from equal places. While some yatris are lawyers, professors, students, and even politicians, most are low-income gig workers, mechanics, drivers, street vendors, or hawkers. Most of the pilgrims India Today spoke to are not the ones who feel empowered on a daily basis - they struggle to be heard. But during the yatra, they are revered, abided by, and sometimes feared. The Kanwar Yatra is reflective of India's changing spiritual landscape.MOTIVATIONS GALORESonu Prajapati, 30, who works in a Ghaziabad law firm, earning around Rs 2.5 lakh a year, walks to inspire people to quit consuming meat and eggs, and promote Sanatan Dharma. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Amit from Haridwar walks to get "Gau Mata" the status of "Mother of the Nation".But Prince, 30, from Delhi's Jaffarpur, walks to bathe his mother with Kanwar water. Lalit, a tile worker from Delhi educated till class 10, walks for the health of his parents. Earning less than Rs 20,000 a month, faith is likely his only currency to earn a healthy and long life for his parents. And Ankush, a Delhi teen pursuing his Bachelor of Arts, is walking to fulfil his dream of becoming an engineer - and resolve some family issues.DEVOTION OR DESIRE?advertisementAnkit Bhardwaj from Faridabad used to go on the yatra on his bike. But the desire for a son made him take up the journey on foot. After he was blessed with twin sons, he set forth on foot again this year in gratitude. Santosh, 40, from Rajasthan, owns a hardware shop and earns a decent living. He participates in the yatra because he feels god has always had his back.Twelfth-pass Golu from Ghaziabad, who works in a furniture company and earns Rs 16,000 a month, walks out of a "deep personal feeling". Manas Kumar, from Bihar's Khagaria, who makes Rs 15,000 a month from his business, says he is driven by the "invisible power of Lord Shiva".Vijay Kumar Singh was motivated by his family who joined the yatra for generations, and by his devotion to Lord Shiva. And Sohan Chaudhary walks because he "enjoys going on the Kanwar Yatra with his family members".Similarly, Dharmdev Solanki from Rajasthan's Dausa, who owns a ration shop, says he has been going on the yatra without any expectation since he was a child.Under the blazing sun or toughing out heavy rain and storms, they walk. And some people go the extra mile. Forty-year-old Munna Bhagar from Khagaria wanted to do something special for his village temple and that's why he embarked on this spiritual journey in 1997 for the first time.advertisementAt the time, he travelled by train to Khagaria, then took a jeep to Munger ghat to collect the holy water and covered 80 km on foot without stopping. On his first yatra, four people accompanied him. Now, thousands follow him every year.
While some yatris are lawyers, professors, most are low-income gig workers (PTI)
A GIANT CANOPYMany walk despite the everyday hardships of middle- and lower-class existence. But some also temporarily shed their luxuries to do so. Amit Kumar and Yashwant Rawat, engineers who earn more than Rs 15 lakh annually, leave behind plush MNC offices to walk barefoot in devotion. Suresh Kumar, a Delhi bank manager, says Lord Shiva's calling cannot go unanswered.Lawyers, teachers, housewives, and even civil construction workers like Kiran and Archana from Odisha, all echoed a recurring theme: a spiritual instinct beyond logic, class, or convenience.A POLITICAL MARCH?Not everyone walks with a personal desire; some quietly want to bring about a collective change. Ravi Jirati, 36, from Indore, with a Class 12 education, walks to promote 'Hindutva and for the prosperity of the nation'. Saurabh from Panipat wishes to see unity among Hindus - and for "gau mata".advertisementMeanwhile, 20-year-old Abhishek was jolted by the deadly terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam this year. He said, "I have a strong desire for unity among Hindus in our nation. The incident in Pahalgam deeply affected me. That pain remains in my heart. I have taken up the Kanwar to promote unity among Hindus."On the other hand, senior journalist Manikant Jha from Darbhanga, walks to promote and preserve the Maithili culture. He has been doing the Kanwar Yatra for the past 50 years. He says the yatra is deeply rooted in Mithila's culture -- the belief that the first water offering to Lord Shiva was made by the people of Mithila on Basant Panchami.But recent incidents of violence and vandalism have cast a shadow on the yatra's spiritual ethos. Visuals of Kanwariyas clashing with citizens, and recently with a Central Reserve Police Force jawan in UP's Mirzapur, have sparked concerns.While people we spoke to said it was only faith and yearning to be one with God that motivated them to walk, growing instances of disruption have raised some uncomfortable questions about the evolving character of the yatra.advertisementSo, is faith merely a private refuge, or has it become a performance for visibility, empowerment, and belonging? For many, this journey may not be about arriving at the temple at all, but more about being witnessed along the way, an endeavour they have succeeded at.(Edited by Pathikrit Sanyal)- EndsTrending Reel