Kumba Mela 2010

My friend, tonight is a big puja and my guru invited 2000 Sadhus for dinner. So as you can see there is a whole lot of potato to be pealed. But the more Sadhus eat from the dinner, the more positive karma my guru gains . This is the way it goes here on the Kumba Mela... The biggest happening of the world that sometimes looks like the most beautiful and holy gathering and other times more like a big circus maximus. Come, see and take your pick :-)

















Women washing in the holy Ganga that does not only clean souls, but works perfectly for dirty clothes as well.















A lower cast family from U.P. in one of the camps having their lunch. These people are real welcoming and happy to make you part of their camp even if just for an afternoon.













This is Pilote-baba surrounded by his disciples.











So what are we gonna talk about? God, consciousness, divine unity, the non-duality of the human beings or just simply the baba's Nokia phone that was manufactured in Hungary?!












This one is a standing Baba. They take a wow that they will stand for sometimes over a period of ten years. Over which their legs and foot become somewhat of a tree trunk. I hope this way they truly get closer to god, because if not than all this effort is a bit of a pity.












But even if they don't speak the language, they ever so ready to share some good Himalayan charas with you. These babas are giving heat to some serious chillums.











They are always welcoming, and in case they speak English one can have some philosophical conversations with them.














On the afternoon it is always worth paying a visit to the Sadhus camps.











Sadhus lining up for lunch.













An elaborate seed and flower display at the Kr.shna camp.












Holy moments. According to the Hindus, if you take a bath in the Ganga during the Kumba Mela at the right place, it takes away all your bad karma.












A Sadhu is taking a rest at one of the fancier tents.












The quiche exterior of Pilot-Baba's camp.












This is one of the big Babas giving a speech to his followers on a sleepy afternoon.












Bathing is not only for humans, but all the devotees of the animal kingdom.













We wondered into a camp with full of Russian devoties. Here good food was garantied daily, and I've found it real therapeutic to peel potato with all the "new-age babuskas".











He is a young companion of a Sadhu who one day may become a Baba himself.
















Rishikes is real hot during the day. So if you aren't taking a bath, you better find yourself some shady spot and gallons of water.














N/c












All ofsprings of the Hindu religion are represented on the Mela at some form. These youngsters we befriended in the Kr.sna camp.












Durring the three and a half monts of the festival, about18 to 25 million people come to take a cleansing bath in the holy Ganga river. The main participants of the jamboree are the sadhus like these ones here. They come from all differend kinds of Sadhu orders but lots of them are just single unit wandering sadhus that live in some caves in the Himalaya.











Welcome to the 2010 Kumba Mela, the biggest religious gathering of the planet.

Up north in Risikesh...

We ventured up to the foothills of the Himalaya, although only up to 2500 meters high. This picture was made in a small village up high where we came to the conclusion that Himalaya is still a bit cold to visit. So for now we did some lung exercise and headed down to Haridwar to the Kumba Mela 2010.













Sir I have the best quality silver goods in town. As they say around here: "Cheap and best." (now how can u argue such claim)













Gadget-land in Risikesh.













You look funny with your camera...










A palace of a Raj from back in the days.











Bathing in the holy Ganga is surely a special experience that cleans the body and soul. After all has been washed off, nothing is better than a little jamming with friends.













First crunch the tirst of your holy companion and than refresh thy own self. A good Hindu :-)












Some followers of Shiva the destroyer hangin' out by the side of the road. Which is gonna prevail for the passage of time, the holy trident or the "S.b.i. internet banking"?!












This is us, hanging out with some friends after consuming a double portion of rice and curry with a liter of curd and honey.













A lovely offering of a handful of lotus flowers.

















A dried out river bed quickly gets inhabited by dalits, families from the lowest cast of India.












A classic barber shop in Risikesh. This one is quite established. The more basic ones consist of a chair, a par of scissors, and a bucket of water on the side of the road.












There are some huge ashrams all over Risikesh. Some modest ones and some quite over the top with 13 floors. This one is a statue of a deity on the bottom floor.













This here is laughing yoga in practice. Contrary my previous assumptions it is not only laughing, but also involves some asanas.
Well we surely had a laugh or two.











So we took the train in Chennai and dashed trough the whole country just to find ourselves in Risikesh. This holy town at the foothills of the Himalaya claims to be the yoga capitol of India.

Do you speek sinhalese?

After a week and a bit on the coast we had to head back to Colombo to pick up our fat-new Indian visas. Leaving Sri Lanka wasn't easy because the place gave us sooo many beautiful moments, but time was up to fly back to Chennai and get up to the 2010 Kumba Mela.












If you want your neighbor to move out quick-snap, come to us and we'll hook you up with the necessary sound devices to raise hell :-)













The backwaters are real quiet with an amazing diversity of wild-life.











Don't worry, I will personaly look after your bagpack untill you go shopping. But only if you grant me with a new school-pen!!













Twisted...











A moment of devotion in an all female convent.












Some of the stronger built houses however survived and now are giving a testimony of glorious times of the fifties and sixties when most of these villas have been built in lovely modernist style.












The people are still recovering from the big tsunami that devostated most of the coastal areas. This is an old Toddy-Tapper standing on the remains of the old family home. Now there is no family and no home.










We managed to squat a whole island near by a posh beach village. Here is the negative of Gabri, in Crusoe style solitude.












These are tipical outrigger boats in Lanka. The fisherman spend long days and nights in them out on the sea.











But if you find a giant cactus like this one here, your shady accomodation is solved.













Here given that we are real close to the equator, the sun is unbearably hot. The locals walk around with umbrellas during the day.











We are making delicious food out of wet sand. And with a good handful of this we would like to wellcome you on the south coast of Sri Lanka.