Pilgrims' progress

The Hindu

26-04-2025

The legend of Shravan Kumar is well known. The child of an elderly couple, Shantanu and Gyanvati, born after fervent prayers and penance, Shravan grew up to be a devoted and compassionate son, symbolising the epitome of virtue. His dedication to his parents was unparalleled. He 'shouldered' the responsibility of taking care of his parents in their old age with utmost love and respect. He wanted to fulfil their desire to go on a pilgrimage to distant and sacred places. He embarked on the journey carrying his parents in baskets suspended from a pole that balanced across his shoulders. He walked relentlessly, making sure that his parents were comfortable throughout the arduous journey. However, tragedy occurred when passing through a dense forest. He was felled by an arrow released by Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, who was on a hunting expedition.
Though the pilgrimage of Shantanu and Gyanvati remained inconclusive, the story of Shravan Kumar, as a devoted son who attempted to take his parents to various places of pilgrimage, continues to be told and retold to inspire the children of subsequent generations.
The recently concluded event of Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj was witness to similar stories of many old and infirm parents being taken for a dip in the Ganga at the confluence of three rivers (Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati). It was celebrated as Maha Kumbh since it was a rare religious festival that takes place once every 144 years. It is a celestial spectacle that occurs when the sun, moon, Jupiter and Mercury are aligned. It is a living embodiment of India's timeless tradition, history and cultural identity. It attracted more than 660 million devotees from India and 183 countries abroad.
It was a gargantuan event, some of the facts and figures about it speak volumes about its magnificence. It was undoubtedly the world's largest religious event. Over 40,000 police personnel and 3,000 CCTV cameras were deployed to manage crowds. The event included 14 new flyovers, nine permanent ghats and seven new bus stations. The event's arrangements included over 6,000 hospital beds in 43 hospitals, and air ambulances. The arrangements included 1,50,000 toilets, 18,000 sanitation workers and 1,800 Ganga Sevaduts. The event's website had millions of daily users from around the world. It included spiritual discourses, folk performances and methodological dramatisations. It also focused on waste management systems and a ban on plastics. Several world records were achieved including Guinness world records for the largest simultaneous river clean-up, the highest number of volunteers participating in a single-site cleanliness drive, and the most participants creating handprint paintings in just eight hours.
One of the old and aged couples looking for a dip at the Triveni during the Maha Kumbh, which was held over 45 days from January 13 to February 26, was my wife and I. However, I later withdrew my candidature on account of my indifferent health and the alarming news about the ever increasing number of pilgrims leading to traffic jams and consequent restrictions on movement. But my wife, being a good old Allahabadi, was very keen on taking the dip, come what may. My son from the U.S. was in India a couple of months before the Maha Kumbh started. He said he would come in January to take us there. However, on account of his inability to get leave due to preceding Christmas and New Year vacations, he was unable to do so. A couple who offered to take us there by road could not do so on account of some family engagements. But the Triveni configuration of the stars ensured that my wife, in spite of her ailments, reached the confluence. It so happened that her brother's 50th wedding anniversary celebrations were due in early February 2025. It enabled her to get a helpful relative to make all the arrangements for her to go to Prayagraj and take the dip in the Triveni at the right time before the rush of pilgrims towards the end of the event began. On her return, she sprinkled the holy water on me and the helps at home to ensure salvation to all of us.
Finally, our son arrived from the U.S. to play the role of Shravan Kumar when we decided on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya a couple of weeks later. Of course, he did not take us to Ayodhya in baskets suspended from a pole that balanced across his shoulders. It was a journey in aeroplanes, taxis and wheelchairs.
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