DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) – A Demon’s D-Day
As Ravan, the ten-headed demon king of Lanka (present Sri Lanka) started relieving himself; a gleeful expression filled his faces. His eon long penance at the foothills of the mythical Mt. Kailash, the abode of Shiva in the Himalayas, had borne result. Not only the fiery had god appeared before him but also, as a boon, agreed to go with him and live in his kingdom.
“And with Shiva on my side,” Ravan thought while surveying the landscape, which his discharge had turned into a pond, “I would be unconquerable.”
As I waded my way through the labyrinthine of pilgrims, after a monotonous 20-hour train journey from Delhi, it seemed as if an orange carpet of human body had lain themselves at the Jasidih Railway…show more content… Joyous. Raucous. Pious. Abominable.
Loudspeakers blare popular numbers. One of which has Shiva pleading with his wife, Goddess Parvati to prepare his daily quota of hemp (Cannabis sativa). Shops line up on both sides of the road and a row of temporary stalls selling trinkets and souvenirs had come up right in the middle. Business is brisk. And profitable.
The road gets narrower until about 1 km ahead it turns into one of the numerous alleys leading to the temple. Even otherwise, the path running adjacent to a gutter, is claustrophobic but for a period of one month when Kanvariyas, as these the orange robed Shiva devotees are called, it turns…show more content… After performing their oblations, the Kanvariyas visit another Shiva temple at Basukinath, about 40 km away.
At the temple, comprising of twenty-two other shrines, it is difficult to remain atheist. Maintaining order is an ordeal. Even the continuous charge of frayed bamboo sticks by the police does little to deter them. “No duty could be as tough,” exclaims Awadhesh Kr. Singh, Inspector of Police. “We change personnel every 30 minutes.” It takes mettle to avoid mishaps. In one of the worst cases of stampede, 11 persons lay dead and 50 other injured in the year 2015.
With only one low height door - both for entrance and exit - the dimly lit tiny sanctum sanctorum it takes hard dose of faith to be pushing inside. Arms frantically reaching out fighting other equally resolute palms for one touch the Lord, at a slight burrow, crushing bodies, shoving hands and banging heads, it is not the place for the faint