Urn Festival

In ancient times, the Hindu legend goes, the 330 million angels were as mortal as man. The angels discovered that they could defeat death by drinking the divine nectar which was kept in the Kumbh (holy urn). They fought a full-scale war with the demons for possession of the Kumbh, and won. As the angels flew triumphantly to heaven with the urn, four drops of nectar fell to the ground from the vessel. Where the drops formed pools, every pious Hindu who bathes may end his earthly cycle of births and deaths, and release his soul into union with God. Best time to bathe is Kumbh-mela (Urn Festival), which occurs once every twelve years in each of the four cities where the drops fell. Last month, it was Kumbh-mela in Hardwar, at the headwaters of the Ganges where the water is clear and blue. Hindus believe that a bath in the Ganges at any time and at any point is enough to wipe away all the sins of a lifetime. A bath in the Ganges pool at Hardwar is considered even more effective. But a bath at Hardwar during the Kumbh-mela has the cleansing power of 100,000 ordinary baths.

Red Umbrellas & Cold Water. This year, a million and a quarter pilgrims went to Hardwar during the festival that ended last week. Between baths the Hindus could choose among two movie theaters, a circus and three sideshows, including "The Spider Woman," and "The Death Ride" by a motorcyclist in a deep pit.

Every day, crowds of devout waded into the water, shouting: "O Goddess Ganges, holiest of rivers, lead me to salvation!" Children screamed as they were dragged into the icy water. Barren couples bathed hand-in-hand, hoping the holy water would make them fertile. Pregnant women came seeking the blessing of the Ganges for their unborn babies; 28 of the babies were born during the festival.

On Kumbh Day, April 13, at 3:48 p.m., the day and time calculated by astrologers as most auspicious for bathing, the pool was reserved for holy men (Sadhus). It took the 15,000 Sadhus three hours to march down the three-mile route to the water. Most wore saffron robes or loin cloths, but 2,000 of the holiest were naked. Each of the seven Akharas (orders) had its painted elephant, and at the head of each order rode its leader, shaded by a red umbrella. Six of the leaders were in palanquins carried by six men; the chief of the rough, tough Bairagi order rode in a jeep.

Once during Kumbh Day a crowd of bathers returning from the pool collided with the mass of pilgrims on their way to bathe. In the crush, 32 people were trampled to death. This was the only major misfortune of the festival.

Loudspeakers & DDT. At the 1938 Hardwar urn festival, food had run short, greedy merchants had fleeced the pilgrims. A cholera epidemic had killed thousands, and the survivors spread disease and panic throughout India. This year's festival was the first Kumbh-mela in free India, and the government was resolved to make it a showpiece of freedom. Thirty thousand civilian employees, 4,000 policemen and 1,500 army men were moved into Hard-war to keep order. A thousand tents and several thousand tin sheds were built for the pilgrims, 15 pontoon bridges thrown across the Ganges. Thirty-five thousand tons of food were poured into the area. Boy Scouts manned loudspeakers 16 hours a day, broadcasting missing-persons appeals. Lifeguards watched to protect pilgrims from drowning in the swift current of the river. Said one American visitor: "This is run better than the New York World's Fair."

Best of all, strict sanitary methods were enforced. Drenched in chlorine and DDT, Hardwar had fewer mosquitoes than ever before. And three miles outside Hardwar, on all sides, pilgrims had to show cholera certificates or be inoculated on the spot. In one of the biggest anti-epidemic demonstrations in history, doctors gave more than a million cholera shots. Last week as the urn festival ended, it looked as if the government's health measures were an effective aid to the waters of the Kumbh in the fight against death.

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