Pilgrimage and Power

Abstract

This book is a historical study of the largest pilgrimage festival in the world, the Kumbh Mela. Focusing on the festival in a key northern Indian political town, Allahabad, the book traces the historical changes in the nature of the mela from the 1700s onward, with particular reference to the influence of British colonialism and the growth of Indian nationalism in the region. It charts the early nationalists' active construction of religion as a sphere of sovereignty, and the attendant changes to religious and social practices at the mela. Further, the book traces the links between the religious community that the mela fostered and the spread of nationalism in the early twentieth century. It also follows and analyzes debates about the role of religion – so often described as modernity's other – in the creation of notions of citizenship and civil society in the late colonial and postcolonial Indian nation.

Social relations in crowds: Recognition, validation and solidarity

“…The regime pursued by these latter (mostly elderly) pilgrims (known as Kalpwasis) is demanding (Buzinde, Kalavar, Kohli, & Manuel-Navarrete, 2014;Maclean, 2008) and the commitment to pursue such activities over the event's duration means there is potential for a shared identity to emerge . Some attend for only a few days.…”

“…Others live on the site for the full month pursuing religious rituals (especially pre-dawn bathing in the Ganga) while renouncing worldly comforts and living in basic tented encampments. The regime pursued by these latter (mostly elderly) pilgrims (known as Kalpwasis) is demanding (Buzinde, Kalavar, Kohli, & Manuel-Navarrete, 2014;Maclean, 2008) and the commitment to pursue such activities over the event's duration means there is potential for a shared identity to emerge . Survey research confirms this potential and shows that for those who do experience a stronger sense of shared identity there is a heightened sense of relational intimacy with other Kalpwasis and a positive crowd experience .…”

Colonised Gaze? Guidebooks and Journeying in Colonial India

“…Ultimately, this structuring of travel experience minimised the scope for individual response, standardising journeys. 70 The travelogues offered a template to the traveller of where to go (travel circuit), what to do (desh bhraman) and how to respond (according to a Hindu/Bengali/Indian sensibility). Though the regional hierarchy established by the guidebooks was influential in creating this travel circuit, their content or aesthetic was appropriated only when it aligned with the needs of the Indian (Hindu) consumers.…”

Seeing, Being Seen, and Not Being Seen: Pilgrimage, Tourism, and Layers of Looking at the Kumbh Mela

“…34 In 1954, during the first Kumbh Mela to be held in Allahabad after independence, inadequate crowd control and poor planning led to an incident in which several hundred pilgrims died. 35 There were many causes and contributing factors, but the problem was compounded by large numbers of pilgrims who sat down to watch the processions of the nagas, creating massive congestion in an area in which space was at an absolute premium, on a day in which six million people were present. In the subsequent inquiry, it came to light that some of the naga akharas had inflated their numbers by paying men to join their naked processions, as a way of literally ''stealing a March'' on their competitors.…”

“…However, the mela element was well entrenched, and so there is mention of twentieth century melas hosting plays of Faust, wheels of fortune, displays of the great Indian Rope Trick, an impressive range of exhibitions, joy rides, fun parks, zoos, and displays of wax effigies intended to rival those of Madame Tussaud. 57 At recent melas, a favorite and recurrent attraction has been a daredevil and his ''Wheel of Death,'' a sideshow involving a car driving around a small, purpose-built stadium at disconcertingly high speeds until it is perpendicular to the ground, at which point the driver makes a universal ''look, no hands'' gesture out of the car window; a feat which really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Some tamashas have a quasi-religious value, such as exhibitions of ''auspicious'' five-legged cows which are mentioned in nineteenth century accounts of the mela, 58 and a joy ride at the 2007 Ardh Kumbh, ''Ma Ganga Devi Yatra,'' which resembled a roller coaster, except the car moves at a more dignified pace up a construction representing Mount Kaliash, to the source of the Ganga, concluding not with a rush, but a darshan of Shiva and his divine consort Parvati.…”