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Long and arduous pilgrimages on foot are not possible without being high either on religious fervour or some intoxicant.
And both these elements are found in abundance in one of the longest pilgrimages of Northern India – the Kanwar Yatra in which the disciples of Lord Shiva, carrying Ganga water from Haridwar, travel towards their hometowns in Haryana and adjoining states.
Faith apart, Kanwarias in thousands, who pass through Gurgaon along NH-8, are generally high on marijuana.
Inside a Kanwar rest camp at Silokhra village, on the other side of NH-8, a group of saffron-clad pilgrims, sitting in front of Lord
Shiva’s portrait, chants mantras — oblivious to their long journey lying ahead on foot. Next to them, another group is busy puffing a chillum stuffed with marijuana — chanting Jai Bhole, after every puff.
The group’s leader Puran Chand Yadav of Kotputli near Jaipur, believes that devotion to Shiva is incomplete without his prasad.
“Bhole ka prasad hai. Thakan mitane ke alawa yeh humein Bhole baba ke karib le jata hai (It’s Shiva’s religious offering. Besides removing tiredness it takes us closer to our Lord)” said Yadav, a farmer, after taking long and deep puff from his 5-inch chillum.
Agrees, Pradeep Kumar, another kanwariya, for whom a few puffs are vital for concentrating on the road ahead.
“Mind is focused only on one aim that we have to reach destination and pour ganga jal on Bhole’s pindi (Shiva’s stone symbol)” he said as swirling smoke from Yadav’s puff hit his nostrils.
Getting weed is not a tough task when religious strings are attached to it. Yadav says he prefers to carry his stock as prices soar during the pilgrimage. A 10-gram packet of Rs 50 costs more than Rs 150 these days, he says with an economist’s expression.
A goal of pleasing Lord Shiva is what draws pilgrims, many youths, to take up the tedious journey.
For twenty-nine-year-old Sunil Saini, a manager in an electronics firm in Gurgaon, going on 12 dak kanwar yatras has not been sufficient. For last three years, he has been serving kanwarias at the rest camps.
Dak kanwar is a relay pilgrimage in which pilgrims take turns in carrying a kanwar while running, not walking. They have a deadline within which they have to reach a temple and offer Gangajal on Shivling.
“This service is out of faith. I went on dak kanwar yatras for faith and am now serving here for faith” said Saini while supporting a khadi (standing) kanwar of a pilgrim from Alwar district who was sleeping inside at a camp near Signature tower.
A khadi kanwar is not supposed to be kept to rest and should be worn on shoulders at all times. “Khadi kanwars are rare but today we have two of these” said Saini. The second kanwar was worn by another devotee.
As night progresses and clock strikes 12, it is time for Saini to go. He politely hands over kanwar to a muscular youth Jyoti Prakash who will carry it for some time before another devotee takes turn.
“People serve here by donating eatables, and medicines. Some even massage legs and feet of kanwars” said Jyoti.
