Latest news with #Hindus
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Diving for hidden treasure in polluted waters
Ramu Gupta, a 67-year-old man who goes to the river to hunt for coins and other valuables, pulls out a bag filled with plastic from the waters of river Yamuna in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters At the crack of dawn, Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag on to his shoulder and heads to the Yamuna River in the Indian capital in search of his fortune. The 67-year-old is one of hundreds of gotakhors, or divers, who go to the river to hunt for coins, trinkets, discarded bottles and shards of metal and wood that can be sold in Delhi's booming scrap market. 'I earn approximately 5000 Indian rupees ($NZ98) in a month from this,' said Gupta, who spends his days working as a toilet cleaner near the shack where he lives. He saves the extra income for his two grandchildren, hoping to split it between them when they grow up. Hindus consider rivers as holy and pilgrims toss offerings including coins, coconuts and flowers into the water for the "river goddess' who sustains lives by giving water for drinking and irrigation. They regard the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, as one of the most sacred in India, cremating the dead on its banks and throwing their most precious possessions, including jewellery, into the waters along with their loved ones' ashes. Gupta and his fellow divers swim beneath the polluted waters, often risking their health in their search for riches. He is at the river in the morning and evening seven days a week, and goes to his regular work during the day – a routine that he has followed for 35 years. Arvind Kumar, 29, has been working on the river full time for nearly 12 years. 'There is no fixed income from this kind of work,' said Kumar, who earns up to 600 rupees per day on average, below the government's minimum daily wage of 710 Indian rupees for an unskilled worker. Mostly, the divers collect coins, bottles and plastics. Occasionally they might discover some slivers of gold. More rarely, gold rings and necklaces. Sometimes, they also find bodies, and then the police might call on them to help retrieve them. If they see people carried away by the currents, they might try to rescue them. This makes the divers 'happier than the person rescued,' Gupta said. A devout Hindu, Gupta said he was not afraid of the river because he had the protection of 'Mata Rani', the Hindu mother goddess. 'So why be scared?" he asked. 'If she wants, I will die, if she wants me to live, she'll save me.'
The Star
an hour ago
- General
- The Star
India's river divers risk health in search for hidden treasures
Items collected by people, who go to the river to hunt for coins and other valuables from the waters of river Yamuna, are kept in a container in New Delhi, India, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -At the crack of dawn, Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag onto his shoulder and heads to the Yamuna River in the Indian capital in search of his fortune. The 67-year-old is one of hundreds of gotakhors, or divers, who go to the river to hunt for coins, trinkets, discarded bottles and shards of metal and wood that can be sold in Delhi's booming scrap market. 'I earn approximately 5,000 Indian rupees ($58) in a month from this,' said Gupta, who spends his days working as a toilet cleaner near the shack where he lives. He saves the extra income for his two grandchildren, hoping to split it between them when they grow up. Hindus consider rivers as holy and pilgrims toss offerings including coins, coconuts and flowers into the water for the "river goddess' who sustains lives by giving water for drinking and irrigation. They regard the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, as one of the most sacred in India, cremating the dead on its banks and throwing their most precious possessions, including jewellery, into the waters along with their loved ones' ashes. Gupta and his fellow divers swim beneath the polluted waters, often risking their health in their search for riches. He is at the river in the morning and evening seven days a week, and goes to his regular work during the day – a routine that he has followed for 35 years. Arvind Kumar, 29, has been working on the river full time for nearly 12 years. 'There is no fixed income from this kind of work,' said Kumar, who earns up to 600 Indian rupees per day on average, below the government's minimum daily wage of 710 Indian rupees for an unskilled worker. Mostly, the divers collect coins, bottles and plastics. Occasionally they might discover some slivers of gold. More rarely, gold rings and necklaces. Sometimes, they also find bodies, and then the police might call on them to help retrieve them. If they see people carried away by the currents, they might try to rescue them. This makes the divers 'happier than the person rescued,' Gupta said. A devout Hindu, Gupta said he was not afraid of the river because he had the protection of 'Mata Rani', the Hindu mother goddess. 'So why be scared?" he asked. 'If she wants, I will die, if she wants me to live, she'll save me.' ($1 = 85.85 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bhawika Chhabra; Writing by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
India's river divers risk health in search for hidden treasures
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Items collected by people, who go to the river to hunt for coins and other valuables from the waters of river Yamuna, are kept in a container in New Delhi, India, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra NEW DELHI - At the crack of dawn, Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag onto his shoulder and heads to the Yamuna River in the Indian capital in search of his fortune. The 67-year-old is one of hundreds of gotakhors, or divers, who go to the river to hunt for coins, trinkets, discarded bottles and shards of metal and wood that can be sold in Delhi's booming scrap market. 'I earn approximately 5,000 Indian rupees ($58) in a month from this,' said Gupta, who spends his days working as a toilet cleaner near the shack where he lives. He saves the extra income for his two grandchildren, hoping to split it between them when they grow up. Hindus consider rivers as holy and pilgrims toss offerings including coins, coconuts and flowers into the water for the "river goddess' who sustains lives by giving water for drinking and irrigation. They regard the Yamuna River, which originates in the Himalayas, as one of the most sacred in India, cremating the dead on its banks and throwing their most precious possessions, including jewellery, into the waters along with their loved ones' ashes. Gupta and his fellow divers swim beneath the polluted waters, often risking their health in their search for riches. He is at the river in the morning and evening seven days a week, and goes to his regular work during the day – a routine that he has followed for 35 years. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore July BTO launch to have over 4,600 balance flats, 2 BTO projects with under than 3-year wait Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict Singapore Acute psychiatry services to be expanded across all healthcare clusters: MOH Singapore Alleged Toa Payoh cat killer and abuser handed new charge of torturing sixth cat Singapore 'Kpods broke our marriage, shattered our children': Woman on husband's vape addiction Singapore Asia-Pacific will need over 230k new pilots, 250k aircraft maintenance technicians by 2042: ICAO chief Business Tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter Kuok Hui Kwong appointed CEO of Shangri-La Asia Multimedia Telling the Singapore story for 180 years Arvind Kumar, 29, has been working on the river full time for nearly 12 years. 'There is no fixed income from this kind of work,' said Kumar, who earns up to 600 Indian rupees per day on average, below the government's minimum daily wage of 710 Indian rupees for an unskilled worker. Mostly, the divers collect coins, bottles and plastics. Occasionally they might discover some slivers of gold. More rarely, gold rings and necklaces. Sometimes, they also find bodies, and then the police might call on them to help retrieve them. If they see people carried away by the currents, they might try to rescue them. This makes the divers 'happier than the person rescued,' Gupta said. A devout Hindu, Gupta said he was not afraid of the river because he had the protection of 'Mata Rani', the Hindu mother goddess. 'So why be scared?" he asked. 'If she wants, I will die, if she wants me to live, she'll save me.' ($1 = 85.85 Indian rupees) REUTERS
Gulf Insider
3 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Indian Police Discover a Russian Woman Living in a Cave
While on patrol last week looking for any tourists who might have gotten stuck in the landslide-prone forests in the southern Indian town of Gokarna, police inspector Sridhar S.R. spotted a statue of a Hindu deity peeking out through the lush green vegetation. Moving closer, he saw makeshift curtains made of red saris that obscured the entrance to a cave. When he looked in, he was surprised to find a woman and two young girls living inside. The discovery on July 9 in Karnataka State set off days of sleuthing by the police and government officials to piece together a nine-year odyssey that had led the woman to the cave. The woman, it turned out, was a 40-year-old Russian national named Nina Kutina. She had been living in the cave, which she sometimes used as a retreat, for a week with her daughters, ages 4 and 6. She practiced yoga and meditated by candlelight, and cooked on a wood-fired stove, Mr. Sridhar said. Photos of Hindu deities lined the walls. 'Caves are heaven in her mind-set,' Mr. Sridhar said. Mr. Sridhar and his team initially tried to cajole Ms. Kutina into leaving the cave in the gathering dark, given the area's heavy rainfall, perilous location and reputation as a habitat for poisonous snakes. But Ms. Kutina told them that she was 'interested in staying in the forest and worshiping God,' said M. Narayana, the superintendent of police for Uttara Kannada, the district in which Gokarna sits. The cave is in the town's Ramateertha hills, where seasonal waterfalls and landslides are common. Eventually, the police escorted the trio to a shelter for women run by a nonprofit group. There, after charging her mobile phone, Ms. Kutina emailed her relatives in Russian. 'Our peaceful life in the cave has ended — our cave home destroyed,' she wrote, according to a translation provided by the police. 'From years living under the open sky in harmony with nature, we know: no snake or animal ever harmed us.' The discovery of Ms. Kutina on July 9 raised a bigger question of where she had been since she arrived in India nine years ago, which the police and government officials began piecing together from documents and interviews with her. In 2016, she had entered India on a six-month business visa and traveled to Goa, a state known for its beautiful beaches that is crowded with foreigners who also come to meditate, practice yoga and find spiritual connection. India, with its huge array of gods, deities, gurus, saints and mystics from multiple faiths, has long drawn notable visitors from around the world. In the 1960s, The Beatles famously spent time in Rishikesh, a town in northern India that sits by the Ganges River, sacred to Hindus, practicing Transcendental Meditation with a guru who later became world renowned. Ms. Kutina overstayed her visa by a year and was allowed to leave India by government officials in Goa in April 2018. She then went to neighboring Nepal, which is also a common destination for travelers seeking spirituality, on a 90-day tourist visa and left that country in September, according to a stamp in an old passport that sat among her belongings in the cave. Indian intelligence officials said Ms. Kutina had been back in India since early 2020, having re-entered the country on a multiple-entry tourist visa. She arrived with two sons and a daughter, according to government records. Her elder son died at 21 years of age, in a bike accident last year, and the whereabouts of her younger son, who is 11, are unknown, according to police officials. Her 6-year-old daughter was born in Ukraine, and the younger one was born in India. In Goa, Ms. Kutina worked as a tutor of Russian language and literature. She had made the roughly three-hour trip from Goa to Gokarna — a town of about 20,000 people locally known for its temples and beauty — multiple times in the past, said Mr. Narayana, the police superintendent who provided the details of her travels. 'She had stayed in the cave at least four times,' he said. Ms. Kutina could not be reached at a phone number shared by Karnataka police officials. Inside the cave, Ms. Kutina used to prepare simple meals of roti and vegetable curries for her family, said Mr. Sridhar, the Gokarna police inspector. 'She is an adventurer type of person, she knew lots of things about nature,' he said. But on Monday, Ms. Kutina and her daughters were sent to an office of the Indian government agency that oversees immigration, in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka. In a photograph provided by officials, Ms. Kutina could be seen sitting cross-legged on an empty row of chairs, combing her hair. Her daughters were also seated, and one of them was using a mobile phone. The agency ordered that she be kept under 'close watch,' and now government officials are working on deporting her and her daughters to Russia. They have since been moved to a detention center in another city. Also read: The Billionaire Exodus: Why India's Rich Are Heading Abroad Source The New York Times
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Samik: Not party's job to attend ‘namaz' or ‘hari naam sankirtan'
Kolkata: Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, who has been making attempts to recalibrate its political narrative in the state, on Tuesday said a party's job was not to attend "namaz" or "hari naam sankirtan (chanting Hari)". Bhattacharya, who emphasised BJP's "inclusive politics", also claimed that Trinamool had fostered divisions in society. "A political party's duty is not to participate in namaz or hari naam sankirtan, but to provide assistance to people for hospitalisation, admission in schools, or better civic amenities. People don't come to political workers to listen to Sundarkanda of Ramayana," Bhattacharya said at a workers' meet in Cooch Behar. Bhattacharya, who has earlier tried to bridge the gap with minority communities and said BJP is not against Muslims, asked party workers to refrain from divisive politics. "A political party's job is not to wedge a divide among people. We want Durga visarjan and Muharram processions to go forward simultaneously. They shouldn't need different routes," he said. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Taking on Trinamool, Bhattacharya said: "Who is trying to change the situation in Bengal? Who is forcing Hindus to unite overnight? Trinamool has changed the narrative in West Bengal." He claimed a member of the Muslim community could not even protest against atrocities on Hindus without being "attacked" by the governing party. In the same breath, the Bengal BJP president criticised attempts at radicalisation. "What is happening in Murshidabad, Maheshtala or Kidderpore? Radicalisation is a curse on the entire world and we have to fight against this," he said. Saying the party had always put the country first, Bhattacharya said: "Indira Gandhi was a Congress neta. Yet (former PM Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji called her 'Devi Durga'. BJP doesn't believe in political differences if it is about the national interest."
