Kavad Yatra

If you were in Northern India right now, you would see an unusual amount of orange color in the streets. Men (and some women and children) crowd roads and highways annually to fulfill a type of pilgrimage dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva.

Not properly a pilgrimage but more of a journey (Kavad meaning the tent-like structure that is carried, Yatra meaning journey), hundreds of thousands of saffron-wearing devotees make the journey from their respective home cities to Northern India's holy cities of Rishikesh and Haridwar. The trek begins every year on the first day of sawan (monsoon) and lasts for about two weeks (this year's is July 16th-29th).

During the journey people carry kavads, elaborately decorated structures made of bamboo, many of which look like tents because they are so large in size. The kavad should not touch the ground at any point during the journey. Once the traveler has reached the Ganges river, he or she fills jugs with the river's water and places them at each end of the kavad, making it much heavier that it already was. Then the journey begins back to each person's respective home temple dedicated to Shiva. Some travel in groups, others alone.

Some devotees travel by train, bus, motorcycle, or bike, but most of them travel by foot, some also without shoes!

The most interesting part of this Yatra, for me, is that these travelers happen to be passing right through the city I live in! I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing...maybe just more of an interesting thing. Along the journey there are many checkpoint areas where travelers can rest and find something to eat or drink provided by various temples. Many of these checkpoints are in our city. The not-so-awesome part about being a 'checkpoint' city is that many of our roads are blocked now so that the travelers can do their traveling in peace, making for very congested streets nowadays. Also, I constantly hear a voice on a loudspeaker directing traffic and travelers. Day and night, day and night.

Abhi and I went around the city trying to get some good footage of the orange-ness, here's what we got:

 butt shot!

a pretty big kavad 

This is a drive-by of one of the rest areas in our city.

Chandi Devi-Haridwar

This weekend the whole family took a trip to Haridwar. Haridwar is a nearby city, about a 1 hour drive, known for its massive amounts of temples and the Hindu holy river Ganga ji running through the city. Every year millions of people from all over India, and even foreigners, flock to Haridwar for different festivals and religious ceremonies. Haridwar is also the same city where Abhinav and I were married.

This weekend we went to visit a famous temple in Haridwar called Chandi Devi, devoted to the Hindu goddess named Chandi Devi. The unique thing about this temple is the way you have to get there. The temple is located on the top of a hill, requiring a 3 kilometer (1.8 miles) walk uphill. It took us around 40 minutes to reach the top, and by the end we were all breathing heavily and sweating.

Entrance at the bottom of the hill. 

Walking up the hill...anyone tired yet? 

Outside the temple vendors sell flowers and foods that are offered to the gods. 

Entrance to Chandi Devi temple. 

 Abhinav's father at the entrance of the temple, ringing a bell and holding some flowers.

Monkeys hang around, waiting for unsuspecting victims to steal food from. 

View from the trail on a hazy day. 

Pathway from Chandi Devi to a nearby temple on the other hilltop.

Inside the temple we did see a monkey steal a man's bag from his hand while the man was looking away. By the time he turned to see what was tugging at his hand, the monkey was already running away. Within seconds his wife came running saying the her wallet was in the bag too...these moneys really are well-trained.

Walking down from the temple was easier than going up, but by the time we reached home again we were all exhausted.