To become a river; the longest pilgrimage - India
122 images Created 16 Feb 2021
This is an on going project.
For 2 weeks, I followed the Narmada river, watching it through the eyes of the “Parikramas”, the pilgrims accomplishing this circumambulation through the geographical center of India.
It is the longest pilgrimage: some 7200Km (4500 Miles) across the heart of India, following the Narmada river, never crossing it once: barefoot, with all you need on your back, going through India’s largest hardwood forests, through National parks and walking along highways, most of it across Gondi tribal territory, the original inhabitants of India known for their animist practices. It is the only river in the world that worshippers circumambulate: they walk from its holy source to the ocean, cross its vast estuary (a dangerous boat journey), and walk back up on the opposite bank, all the way to its source.
Unsurprisingly, this is not a brief journey. Pilgrims usually take a minimum of 6 months to do it. Sadhus stick to the Hindu holy numbers and are on the road for 3 years, 3 months and 13 days. Regardless, thousands of people do the pilgrimage each year, most of them elderly and full of dedication, “The river, she is our mother, we breathe with her. She is a part of us, we are a part of her.” Band of white bearded brothers, old couples, solitary walkers, they are all easily recognisable by their white cloth. It’s the last wish on their spiritual bucket list, the one you do before you die; some of them do en route, usually from exhaustion.
But in recent years, younger pilgrims are also joining the movement. They are looking for an escape from the rat race, a way to reconnect with their spiritual India, through their feet – like Pratik, a cement seller then software developer who dropped it all. “Like so many of us, I was burned out. I left on this pilgrimage because I wanted to think of nothing and focus on everything. Now I only carry a few books, holy Narmada water and this small Nokia phone - I know I shouldn’t, but my mum is too worried”.
This story is unpublished.
For 2 weeks, I followed the Narmada river, watching it through the eyes of the “Parikramas”, the pilgrims accomplishing this circumambulation through the geographical center of India.
It is the longest pilgrimage: some 7200Km (4500 Miles) across the heart of India, following the Narmada river, never crossing it once: barefoot, with all you need on your back, going through India’s largest hardwood forests, through National parks and walking along highways, most of it across Gondi tribal territory, the original inhabitants of India known for their animist practices. It is the only river in the world that worshippers circumambulate: they walk from its holy source to the ocean, cross its vast estuary (a dangerous boat journey), and walk back up on the opposite bank, all the way to its source.
Unsurprisingly, this is not a brief journey. Pilgrims usually take a minimum of 6 months to do it. Sadhus stick to the Hindu holy numbers and are on the road for 3 years, 3 months and 13 days. Regardless, thousands of people do the pilgrimage each year, most of them elderly and full of dedication, “The river, she is our mother, we breathe with her. She is a part of us, we are a part of her.” Band of white bearded brothers, old couples, solitary walkers, they are all easily recognisable by their white cloth. It’s the last wish on their spiritual bucket list, the one you do before you die; some of them do en route, usually from exhaustion.
But in recent years, younger pilgrims are also joining the movement. They are looking for an escape from the rat race, a way to reconnect with their spiritual India, through their feet – like Pratik, a cement seller then software developer who dropped it all. “Like so many of us, I was burned out. I left on this pilgrimage because I wanted to think of nothing and focus on everything. Now I only carry a few books, holy Narmada water and this small Nokia phone - I know I shouldn’t, but my mum is too worried”.
This story is unpublished.
