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0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Jan 21, 2001 | by Nick Meo at the Kumbh Mela

The camps of the Akharas - the main sects - are entered through gateways covered with lights which flash at night and giant swastikas, a Hindu religious symbol. Each tries to outdo the other and some of them are towering edifices.

Each worships different deities, with distinctive dress, although some - the naga sadus - go around stark naked.

Crowds gather to hear nine-year-old Richa Goswami preach. Other hits at the Kumbh include Pilot Baba, who used to be an airline pilot with the Indian airforce but now says he pilots his disciples towards the truth; Topi Baba sports colourful caps; while Pagla Baba loses his temper all the time.

"His behaviour can be very strange - he gets angry for no reason," whispered devotee Gopal Tewari.

The Kumbh Mela is also an important opportunity for the ugly face of Hinduism.

Rabidly anti-Muslim bodies of religious bigots, including some close to the governing BJP, have a high profile here and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) is holding a conference of "saints", although many religious figures have condemned the group. They are expected to make a decision today on the date of building a temple at Ayodhya, which is another holy city north of Allahabad.

That threatens to reignite the whole Ayodhya controversy over the destruction of a mosque by Hindu fanatics in 1992 which set off bloody conflict between Hindu and Muslim and threatened India's stability. Hindu extremists say the mosque was built over a temple by Muslim conquerors.

They want to rebuild it on the wreckage of the mosque, and the issue has become a highly-charged and massively symbolic one for both communities.

The row has been simmering for years, but could reignite at the Kumbh Mela - threatening to overshadow everything else at the world's biggest religious gathering.

MELA FACTS:

The Maha Kumbh Mela sees millions of Hindu devotees bathe in the Ganges to purify their sins. Occuring once every 12 years, January 24 is the main bathing day. Ten thousand police will be deployed and five computer centres and 30 electronic display boards set up. Thirty million people are expected over 42 days.

Take me to the river

FREELANCE film-maker Paul Taylor, 45, from London, joined a Hindu family to bathe in the river at dawn and was one of the few Westerners to take part in the mass parades of sadhus on the first auspicious bathing day on January 14, along with an estimated 2.5 million people.

He has been visiting Indian festivals and wanted to see the Kumbh because it is the biggest.

He told The Sunday Herald: "It's an amazing festival and joining the parade was an exhilarating experience. For a tourist it has a different meaning to a Hindu though - I don't believe you will be absolved of your sins by dipping in the Ganges.

"I'm a bit cynical but I've met a lot of Swamis and Sadhus here and the one thing they have in common is they are very astute and very shrewd. They are spiritual people - there is no doubt about that - but when it comes to doing business they know what they are doing.