Ganga Snan Mela: Where religion, commerce, culture & entertainment meet
The festival of Ganga Snan in the Kartik month has religious and historic significance in Hindu mythology
Thousands of devotees are camping on the banks of the Ganga before taking a holy dip on the occasion of Kartik Ganga Snan on November 15.
Devotees, especially from rural areas, congregate on the banks of Ganga at the fair organised on the banks of the river at Makhdoompur (Meerut), Shukratal (Muzaffarnagar), Vidurkuti (Bijnor), Tigri (Amroha), Garh Mukteshwar (Hapur), Anoopshahar (Bulandshahar) and at many other places.
The festival of Ganga Snan in the Kartik month has religious and historic significance in Hindu mythology. It is said that this fair started during the period of the Mahabharta and is associated with Lord Krishna. Lakhs of people still follow this ritual to take a dip on the day of Ganga Snan and people say that this tradition has continued for centuries.
Selva Kumari J, divisional commissioner, Meerut, inaugurated the Garh Mukteshwar Mela with minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, other officials and public representatives on Tuesday evening.
Folk singer Maithli Thakur entertained the gathering with her folk songs till late in the night
The biggest Mela is held at Garhmukteshwar where devotees from far flung places of Delhi, Haryana also arrive.
People from rural areas start arriving at these places a week before the main day of Snan along with their families. They use buffalo carts, tractor trollies, mini trucks and cars to reach the Mela. The carts and tractor trollies become their makeshift homes for over a week.
Yashveer Singh of village Bhainsa in Meerut said, “Villagers begin preparations for participating in the bathing ritual quite early and take materials and commodities of their daily use along with them”.
Youths could be seen wrestling, running, playing volleyball, badminton, and in other activities of sports.
Those who can afford to stay in camps can hire cottages and many of them also bring foldable camps with them.
Jagat Singh of Meerut says that these Ganga Snan Melas were favourite destinations of leaders of the freedom struggle. “Almost every big leader of the freedom movement, including Jawaharlal Nehru, visited these places to spread the message of freedom among the crowd of devotees”.
Moreover, the snan was also a centre for business activities. The cattle market in Garhmukteshwar was the biggest centre for sale and purchase of buffaloes, donkeys, cows and other cattle where sellers and buyers used to come from different parts of the country and the tradition still goes on.
Vicky Jatav of Sisaula Buzurg village in Meerut says that many residents of his village had gone to Makhdoompur and Garh Mela to sell sports items like footballs and badminton gear. “They manufacture these sports items and the Mela gives them an opportunity to earn additional money,” said Jatav.
Peoples’ interest in the week-long Mela can be understood by the fact that the Election Commission announced the date of polling in west UP’s Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad by election on November 13, two days before the snan. Worried leaders of RLD and BJP pleaded before the Commission to postpone the date after November 17 because thousands of voters of these constituencies would be participating in the snan during poll and they wouldn’t be able to cast their votes.
The Election Commission eventually agreed to their demand and postponed the date of polling on November 20.
Meanwhile, the district administration of Hapur, Amroha, Bulandshahar, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar has made elaborate arrangements to ensure peaceful completion of the snan.