The Saga of the Annual Bath
Goldie is all of 14 years old. he is beginning to check out girls. even older ones. He probably doesn't know why he does it but he does it anyways. He is studying (that is he is being made to study) in class 8th. Whenever he can he plays truant from school but this has no bearing on his dreams. Dreams in which he sees himself as a very successful guy with an awesome bike and a big car. He wants to be someone important, how exactly he will do it, he is still figuring out.At the moment the big fight is to be able to get his peers to acknowledge him as worthy of their respect.
This respect means a lot to Goldie. For that he has taken upon himself a very arduous task. Along with some neighbors he has set upon a journey to go collect water from the Holy Ganges in Haridwar and bring it back to his neighborhood Shiva temple. Where the water would be used to do a jalavishek of the Lingam.
Now this doesn’t sound very difficult till you realize that he lives in Delhi and the return journey
of about 250 kilometers would be done barefoot carrying a contraption made of bamboo from which hang two small gharas of Holy water. He is not supposed to allow this thing to touch the ground at any time during the entire journey. And the weather would be hot and humid with temperature touching the forties.When I first saw Goldie he was frantically trying to hitch a ride on the Nizamuddin bridge (links the eastern fringes of Delhi to the main city). He had been walking for the past six days. His companions were not with him. He didn’t have any money on him. His feet were swollen with blisters all over.
I was driving at a reasonably high speed so by the time I braked and came to a halt I was at some distance from him. He didn’t notice me stop and I looked back to see him trying in vain to flag down various vehicles. He was limping badly. Finally he noticed me, walked up hesitantly and asked if I would give him a lift. I told him to hop in and since I was only going a short distance suggested he take a bus home from there.
He looked upset that’s when I realized he didn’t have any money on him. He had boils all over
his face initially I hesitated to ask about them but my curiosity got the better of me and finally did. Goldie said they were caused by the heat.I gave him enough money for the tickets and put him on a bus home.
I felt very upset and helpless. I am sharing this with you along with some questions that cropped up in my mind:
1. What kind of parents let a 14 year old go off on such a journey?
2. What kind of neighbours let the child out of sight on such a stretch of road?
3. Where and when did this whole business of Kavars start? I don’t seem to remember such hordes of them from childhood
4. Who are the people who feed them and make shivirs (camps) all across the city for these people? What’s their motive?
5. Which God is silly enough to be happy taking a bath with water from a distant land once a year and excuse all your excesses?
Comments
Stopped by from IHM's.
I'm fuming at this story. Completely agree with you. What kind of parents let their kid go like that!?!?!
14 year olds are supposed to be out having fun. Not walking cross country barefoot.
and inspite of what the religious zealots may say, i dont think any god wants us to kill ourselves - or others - over stupid rituals.
I felt like going over to lecture those guys ...I was so furious.
Completely agree with you no God wants empty rituals.
Mixed.... :)
this is where i have issues with faith. bcoz what seems SO obviously disgusting to us would seem perfectly normal to some people who would believe that the kid would gain some punya (or whatever!) by going through these hardships.
if there is a god, i don't see him/her approving or appreciating this.
horrible
http://monikamanchanda.wordpress.com/
Even I don't remember this thing happening in my childhood which in my opinion wasn't too long ago and I have noticed this phenomenon only for the past few years since the AB Vajpayee govt or something around that time only, not before that.
That child didnt even say once that he was looking for Punya. His needs were very much this worldly he was looking at becoming the Hero in the eyes of his friends.
Rayshma....apparently the people his parents entrusted him with stopped somewhere on the way and he lost them.
Monika . this is what happens in the name of religion.
Latin sardar - true religion or piety is far removed from rituals such as these. I told that child to never undertake such a journey again and rather be of help to his friends and family. Be good in his studies and honest.
I dont believe in these empty symbolisms but i do believe in God and the fact that every religion started out with some brilliant thoughts...we just need to know how to distill the valuable things from the muck gathered over centuries.
Religions and families in India have their own logic and operational styles which sometimes make me wonder whether the end does really justify the means so much. Hope of a happy afterlife makes people behave outrageously in this life.
bUT there are people like you too in the world, who help, so its not such a bad world, is it?
Am trying to answer your questions:
1.What kind of parents let a 14 year old go off on such a journey?
= They are possibly like one of us. Just that they act to be little more religious and rigid.
2. What kind of neighbours let the child out of sight on such a stretch of road?
= Mostly neighbours only watch. No ?
3. Where and when did this whole business of Kavars start? I don’t seem to remember such hordes of them from childhood
= I have seen this since childhood but yet Kavars have become a business now.
4. Who are the people who feed them and make shivirs (camps) all across the city for these people? What’s their motive?
= Religion. Helping pilgrims perhaps. Hardliners are heroes today.
5. Which God is silly enough to be happy taking a bath with water from a distant land once a year and excuse all your excesses?
= God is helpless here, I think.
Best Wishes
Manish
The poor kid has had to suffer so much.
u r a kind soul pinku :)
When we were young Kawars were sincere devotees, but I noticed this time how this has become politicised. There was picture of a politician in a temple with the kawars, I think now it has become commercialised also.
It was really nice of you to have given a thought to this poor child's plight, this must have been so frightening for him, but some parents feel they will earn 'punya' like this.