The akhadas don’t want outsiders around; if they find any, they get pinched with iron chimtas
Ariot policeman on my left. A naked sadhu, penis dangling, on my right. Anywhere else, this would be unbelievable. But this was Haridwar, Uttarakhand, on the day of the Somawati Aamavasya-Shahi Snan at the Maha Kumbh Mela. Nudity is the norm, not the exception.
We follow the akhada, but run into cops. “Aage allowed nahi hain!” We ask why. He says the akhadas don’t want outsiders around; if they find any, they get pinched with iron chimtas. I recall the small boy with the big sword and quickly nod. Once, the sadhus waged battles for the right to bathe first. Now they take turns in special ghats higher up the river. Commoners bathe in the lower ghats.
(This story appears in the 30 April, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)