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Kala Ramesh

Quicksilver

My grandmother told us the tale of gods and demons who fought an epic battle over the nectar of immortality, which was contained in a pot, or kumbh. The pot spilled in four locations—Prayagraj, Ujjain, Haridwar, and Nasik, and that is the origin of the four Kumbha Melas that are held in rotation at these four places every 12 years.

With India’s huge population and widespread belief in religious sentiments, millions of pilgrims converge to have that holy dip in the Ganga. This year the Kumbh Mela began on January 14, in Hardiwar, and should have gone on until April 27.

The government protocol simply stated: during the Mela, pilgrims must maintain a distance of 6 feet.

The number of positive Covid cases at the Kumbh Mela reached 2,000 in five days, and on April 13, a 65-year-old ascetic died from the virus.

The Times of India asked on page 1, why did it take a monk’s death to put a stop to the Kumbh?

Political and religious heads collide, the blaming game reaches sky high.

second wave. . .
a tsunami of fear
envelopes me

About the Author

Kala Ramesh is a renowned pioneer in the field of haikai literature in India. Her 2017 book Beyond the Horizon Beyond was awarded a Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize Certificate.

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