07/04/2010
We woke this morning relatively early to make our way to Haridwar to see what this festival only held every 12 years was about.
We went on a bad day, there really wasn’t much to do apart from washing in the river and chilling out, the big day was dated for the 14th where all the locals run into the river and bathe, cleansing themselves physically and spiritually.
We wondered around looking for something to do only finding a westerner who took us to a tent where a bunch of people were waiting for ‘Pilot Baba’, there was no set date or time to when this guy was arriving so people just waited and waited hoping he would arrive whilst they were there. I asked what was so special about this ‘Pilot Baba’ and
all I got in response was that he was a pilot in the army and enlightened. Now I don’t understand why people would worship a guy like this, I did get a little bit of info from people about what it means to be enlightened and the hippies say they can feel their auras saying that it is refreshing or something similar. Horse-shit! Enlightened = Attention seeking, that’s the way I see it. And here’s a perfect example; one of the girls in Pilot Baba’s tent who had been around Kumba Mela for a month showed us a picture of one Baba (all of these holy men are referred to as ‘Baba’) who has had his right arm raised above his head for the past 26 years, his arm was looking very malnourished and this guy is somehow enlightened and has a bunch of followers just because he cant put his arm down and this is what people worship… some people are strange!
After a few hours of wondering the dusty festival streets I got bored and left Emer and
Whilst having a thali with Fredo (a Spanish guy who is wicked on guitar) an Israeli girl (Maria) recognized me from Thailand, we hadn’t met but she had saw me in Koh Pan Ngan when I was there with my brother, I thought she was a little bit strange eyeing me weirdly from a distance but she turned out to be a cool girl inviting me to the beach to join in on a little feast and music session. Fortunately for me when her and her friends found out I was a chef I was persuaded to cook something with the vegetables they had already bought which I personally had no problem doing and have been wanting to do for a long time now. I gathered up my knives and spices and after some faffing about getting everyone together and all the equipment for cooking we headed down to the beach where we joined a party already down there and I slaved away cooking for a dozen people.
The food turned out ok, not my best dishes but bearing in mind I was cooking using an inconsistent heat and with limited ingredients and spices I did well, everyone still enjoyed the food.
Getting late into the night some police officers arrived checking if we were doing anything illegal, searching our bags and stuff and seeing my chef knife I travel with. They were not impressed by the size of the knife saying it was too dangerous weirdly and lightly prodding me in the stomach with it (its rounded on the end), I explained that I work as a chef, my knife is my tool of the trade, did not know it was illegal and its only dangerous if used in a situation if brought out in a fight.
After some time I managed to get my knife back telling them that they will never see it again and I put it away with my other large knife I hid in the sand after they took the first one.
When searching the bags they found Emer’s ½ bottle of vodka that she had from Jaisalmer and again saying it was illegal to possess any type of alcoholic drink in this city especially drinking on the river bank of the Gangas not that she was drinking anyways. After a bit of a verbal back lashing the cop smashed the bottle on the rocks by the river… this seemed to all of us at the party as a little contradictory, scattering shards of glass in the holiest river in India. WTF.
As a bit of a contrast to the way the policemen were acting, my punishment for carrying a chef knife was to dance to Emer’s singing which was her punishment… it was a little random so the group played some music and I danced with Shaun getting the officer involved. It was funny but annoying that they were there ruining the mood of the party as it was now past midnight and also the Israeli girl Maria’s birthday.
Some of us headed off shortly after the police left where we had to sneak back into the guesthouse climbing in through the toilets because of the cerfew
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