Muslims soothe pains of Hindu devotees

Prashant Sood

The Kumbh Mela with its swirling crowds can be as physically daunting as it is spiritually fulfilling. But soothing the aches and pains of pilgrims, mostly Hindus, has been a group of Muslims who have been organising medical camps in Haridwar. Azim Mir Khan is among the many doctors who has tended to devotees. "We attended to around 2,000 people in two days," said Khan, who was part of a camp set by the Sir Syed Forum, an alumni group of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) that believes in fostering unity and brotherhood among communities.

He said people came with problems like vomiting, stomach ailments, body aches, joint pains, dehydration and hypertension. "We kept a good stock of emergency medicines and those relating to fungal infections. We also sourced some medicines locally," Khan told. The camp set up at the Sati Kund temple in Kankhal near here coincided with Baisakhi and Mesh Sakranti - two of the most auspicious days for taking a bath in the Ganga during the Kumbh Mela. As pilgrims had to walk long distances to reach the bathing ghats on April 14-15, the doctors at the camp had their hands full. The forum organised two similar camps on the national highway leading to Haridwar.

While one was held on April 12-13 at Purkazi, 53 km from Haridwar, another was held on March 15-16 (coinciding with the second royal bath) at Bhumanand Teerth Charitable Hospital, about seven kilometres from the holy city. "The forum's decision to take this small step of holding medical camps is in keeping with the views and teachings of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and his followers, who believed in joint participation in all social and religious functions to foster unity and harmony," said Syed Hussain Waheed, convenor of the forum. "We believe that it is the common people who pay the price of social and religious tensions and it is they who must take the initiative to strengthen national unity," he said. The devotees were all praise for the effort by the AMU alumni, saying the initiative would foster a sense of unity and brotherhood among the two communities. Rajesh Singh, a resident of Jhijora near Jhansi, said he felt relieved after getting medicines for the pain in his hands and legs. Jai Prakash Gupta from Kolkata who got some medicine for the blisters on his feet, said such camps were the need of the hour. "They increase love and respect between communities and foster the feeling of brotherhood," Gupta said.

Swami Mahamandelshawar Harish Chandra Maharaj, a Hindu saint who was invited by the forum to the Sati Kund temple camp to distribute juice cans among devotees, also lauded the effort. "Such camps create a feeling of unity," he said and added that serving people does not need any religious sanction. Kumbh Mela is one of the biggest religious gatherings on the banks of the Ganga river, with the number of pilgrims this year expected to total around four million since the first day on January 14 till the time it concludes on April 28. The auspicious days of the Shahi Snan or royal baths usually draw hundreds of thousands of devotees.