Bathtime in India

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

And this is only the smaller one...

Some day I hope to see one of these.

Millions of Hindus Bathe in Holy River Water

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 3, 2007 | 1:55 PM ET

CBC News

Millions of Hindus dipped into the frigid waters of three converging rivers in India Wednesday morning, marking the beginning of a 42-day bathing festival.

The pilgrims say the river water in the northern city of Allahabad is holy and has the power to wash away sin and stop the endless cycle of reincarnation.

Upwards of 70 million Hindus from across India and around the world are expected to gather in the city during the festival, chanting religious hymns as they bathe in the waters of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers.

Some say it is the largest gathering of people in the world.

"Initially I felt some cold but one dip and the cold was gone," pilgrim Ram Vir Upadhaya said Wednesday morning, a day marked by chilly winds, fog and temperatures of 6 C.

To prepare for the masses, the government has erected 50,000 tents and 25,000 toilets along an 80-kilometre stretch of the Ganges River.

Nearly 50,000 police officers are patrolling the area to prevent stampedes and watch for potential terrorist attacks.

"We have divided the whole area into different zones and in each zone we have provided an anti-sabotage check team and a bomb disposal squad," said police official Rajeev Sabharwal.

The event is costing the government an estimated $180 million.

The festival, called Ardh Kumbh Mela, occurs every six years. A larger bathing and pilgrimage festival, the Kumbh Mela, occurs every 12 years.

During Ardh Kumbh Mela, only six of 42 days are considered main bathing days. They are chosen based on the alignment of the stars.

Wednesday was one of the bathing days. An estimated three million people had dipped in the water in the first six hours of the morning, starting before dawn. Hindu saints, naked and smeared in ash, led the way.

With files from the Associated Press

[timouse]

The pilgrims say the river water in the northern city of Allahabad is holy and has the power to wash away sin...

i read this quickly and thought that sentence read "wash away skin..." which given the polluted state of a lot of India's rivers wouldn't be much of a stretch

[phorbesie]

kinda one of those things we shouldn't take photos of though!?

i haven't bathed in the ganges (yet) but if i do i think i might like to do it further north where the water's cleaner though i've heard the water isn't really dirty, just the dirt in it.

[The Chameleon]

kinda one of those things we shouldn't take photos of though!?

i haven't bathed in the ganges (yet) but if i do i think i might like to do it further north where the water's cleaner though i've heard the water isn't really dirty, just the dirt in it.

I have heard the exact opposite. The ganges and the rivers adjacent are some of the most polluted anywhere. The locals leave corpses to rot on the banks, and pollution in the form of sewage flow into it from tributaries....

too bad.

[Hux]

Booche asked me to play "Indian Bathtime" with him one time when Douglas was away for the weekend.

[phorbesie]

chameleon i was joking, the rivers are def. filthy there.

however if you go to say rishikesh and take a look at the ganges, it's a helluva lot nicer than in varanasi. (imo) that's what i was trying to say.