Kumbhamela Update

January 10, 2001

>Kumbhamela Update >Wed, 10 Jan 2001 11:15:24 EST > >Kumbha Mela

Update > >On Dvadasi day, we inaugurated our Harer Nama Procession with Nitai

>Gaurasundara in the Padayatra cart. One hundred Manipuri Dancers have arrived

>with HH Bhaktiswarup Damodar Maharaj. People in the Mela were stunned seeing

>this colorful Harer Nama party. They have three types of drums, very long and

>rather thin clay mridungas, wooden mridangas, and big round drums. They all

>have turbans with a little corner of cloth standing up and move with very

>exact >precission. > >Maharaj was leading the kirtan with two lines of

drummers behind him. At the >intersections (Kumbha Mela roads are about 75'

wide) the stop and do >incredible >performances, twirling aroung practically

doing midair somersaults around >their >drums. It is electrifying and draws

huge crowds and every camera in the area. >All the media is covering them

including BBC. BBC has come many times to our >camp to interview Maharaj and

other devotees. > >Yesterday there were five pictures in one large Hindi

newspaper Amar Ujjvala, >including one on the very last page in color of one of

the round drummers >setting his drum on the ground and twirling around at a 45

degree angle and >hitting his drum as he comes around each time. Another showed

one Ukranian >Mataji, Nandimukhi dancing hand in hand with one tribal woman. The

caption >said, Kumbha Mela is not only the sangam of rivers, but the sangam of

cultures >also. > >We have nearly 600 guests and devotees in the camp and the

preaching is very >ecstatic. People are buying Srila Prabhupada's books like

anything and many >young foreigners are being attracted to devotional service.

Krishna has sent >us >one Italian Man, one Spanish lady, and one Brazilian girl

who are all artists >and they are engaged in painting the backdrops for the

dioramas. We are >realizing more and more Srila Prabhupada's incredible mercy.

We even notice >that the few foreign devotees in Adri's camp somehow always

show up here at >prasadam time. One even engaged in seva of carrying bricks. >

>One of our suppliers told us that the head man of the BBC crew told us that he

>has been throughout the Mela, but only THE ISKCON camp has life! > >In service

to Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, >Deena Bandhu dasa Get your FREE download of MSN

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