In Mumbai, the month of Shravan, revered by Hindus, starts with the new moon day (Gattari Amavasya) but in many parts of India, it begins with the previous full moon day (Guru Poornima).
In Mumbai, the month of Shravan, revered by Hindus, starts with the new moon day (Gattari Amavasya) but in many parts of India, it begins with the previous full moon day (Guru Poornima). On this day, a huge trek begins from the banks of the Ganga, with men (and a few women) carrying the Kanwar (a staff with baskets hanging on either side slung over the shoulder). This marks the start of the festival season in the North.
Illustration/ Devdutt Pattanaik
The point is to carry waters of the Ganga barefoot and pour a stream on the Shiva-linga back home on the Amavasya night. At no point must the pots touch the ground in the long journey back home. And so the staff is hung on trees or specially designed racks that ensure the pots hang above the ground while the traveller rests.
The water is poured on the Shiva-linga to reduce the burning sensation that Shiva experiences when he consumes Halahal, the poison released when the ocean of milk was churned by the gods for Amrita, the nectar of immortality.
This is the famous Kanwar yatra that is held in the Gangetic plains during this season. Scores of young men carry the Kanwar on their shoulders and walk with determination, shouting 'Bham-Bham-Bhole'. The sling is often decorated with orange-red flags and tassels. It's a sight to behold, as thousands crowd national highways. The Kanwariyas, as they are called, have in recent times attracted political forces and become rather infamous for their rowdiness as they take over roads and block traffic.
It is by no coincidence that the month's name has an uncanny similarity to Shravan, a character in the Ramayana who carries a Kanwar. Instead of water, he carries his parents in the baskets. They are on a pilgrimage when he gets accidentally shot dead by Ram's father, Dashrath. Shravankumar is the ideal son in Hindu mythology, the one who bears the burden of responsibility and serves his parents dutifully, sacrificing his own freedom in the process.
Far away in Tamil Nadu, worshippers of the boy-god, Murugan, son of Shiva, carry Kavadi on their shoulders, a staff much like the Kanwar of the North, decorated with peacock feathers but without the hanging pots. The story goes that after a disagreement with his father, Shiva, Kartikeya went south, away from the hills of Mount Kailasa, but he missed his home. So, his parents sent two mountain peaks to him.
These were carried on a Kanwar/Kavadi by a demon called Hidimba, with clear instructions not to place them on the ground until she reached Murugan. At one point, the hills became so heavy that Hidimba had to place them on the ground. He saw a boy sitting on one of the hills, who was causing the weight to rise dramatically, and recognised him as Murugan. The spot where the hills were placed is now the famous pilgrimage of Palni.
The Kanwar is a symbol of worldly responsibility. Shiva is an ascetic who shuns marriage and is forced to become a householder by the Goddess. His son, Murugan, is a bachelor in the North but a married man in the South. That their worship is associated with Kanwar indicates a symbolic submission to worldly life. The Halahal indicates the suffering of man as he carries the burden of social responsibilities. Before they became glamorous social festivals asserting religious identities, the Kanwar yatras were ritual acknowledgments of this very earthy conflict of the youth on the threshold of married life.
The author is Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group, and can be reached at devdutt@devdutt.com.
The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't necessarily represent those of the paper
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Thank you for your article in the MiD DAY (August 7, 2011 A Woman's Body). What I would like to appreciate is that you have spoken your mind out and that you have actually hit the nail on its head. In today's world, the laws are made for the convenience of a few, and not for the benefit of all.
If you closely observe, those who cry about women's morality and how they should be treated are mostly hypocritical as they do not practise what they preach. Most of them are politicians. They are the very ones that do exactly the opposite and come out to support the outcries of some fanatics, only to gain mileage for their political gains. These are the very people who have abused women in every way.
The message of the Slut Walk is exactly that: "You cannot touch me without consent". Which means that women must be allowed to exercise their right over their bodies, the way they want and not the way men think.
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