Saturday, August 11, 2007

Kanwar Time

Some times cultures change very fast. We never heard anything like Kanwar up till 1995. After coming to Delhi these men started catching my attention.

Today their numbers are growing exponentially, They come pouring in millions. The most amazing fact is that they cross Delhi after traversing some 250-300 KMs. and go even farther.

They are supposed to be the devotees of "SHIV JI" but mostly they are mischief mongers, carrying base-ball bats and hockey-sticks in their hands, hitting and pushing any one coming in their way. They bring the life in East Delhi and Highway Districts, like Meerut and Ghaziabad, of UP to a standstill. The state Govts. set up large camps and feed them on tax payers money.
They are Kanwariyas:

Standing on road and watching the Kanwariya with colorful giant Kanwar is really a feast for the eyes.

I suppose in a year or two they will become a tourist attraction like the "Pandharpur Yatra"
Some more photos of this interesting phenomenon are available HERE.

4 comments:

Lakshmi said...

Interesting...every culture of ours comes with a positive and a negative side to it..sometimes it can be unique or it becomes "touristy " and in some cases a public menace .
Like your pics and the way you describe this clan .thanks for visiting my blog and your comments

अतुल श्रीवास्तव said...

"They are supposed to be the devotees of "SHIV JI" but mostly they are mischief mongers, carrying base-ball bats and hockey-sticks in their hands, hitting and pushing any one coming in their way."

Aren't most of the religion-based "gangs" (sorry, groups) like that? Thousand of man hours wasted... Anyway, very crisp and colorful photographs.
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Sigma said...

I quite agree with Atul here - most of the Kanwariyas today are no pilgrims - they are really vandals, creating menace all along the way, holding traffic, raising a mob.

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