000			a
999			_c31800 _d31800
008			230419b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9789391125783
082			_a823.92 _bBOS
100			_aBose, Samaresh
245			_aIn search of the pitcher of nectar
260			_bNiyogi Books, _c2022 _aNew Delhi :
300			_a287 p. ; _c22 cm
365			_b450.00 _cINR _d01
504			_aTranslations from the Bengali.
520			_aAuthored by Kalkut aka Samaresh Bose, this travelogue narrates the author’s experience of visiting the Kumbh-mela, the holy site of the confluence of three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, at Prayag, where pilgrims bathe at a designated time of the year. According to Hindu mythology, the nectar of immortality, amrita, arising out of the churning of oceans by gods and asuras, was spilled from the pot, kumbh, in this location. The seekers believe that bathing in the confluence is a means to atonement or penance for past sins. The narrator commences on this journey with the desire not to achieve atonement, but to learn about life, about people. He is amazed and inspired by every character he meets, whether it is his fellow passengers on the train, sadhus and devotees like Mahavir and Ramjidasi at the festival, or the family he shares a tent with. Through the narrator’s eyes, one is also able to discern the double standards of society: masses of people come together on the same journey, but are unable to leave behind their social prejudices, classist behaviour, their weakness for sensual pleasure, their addictions, their personal tragedies and sorrows all in the hope of God taking their pain away with one dip in the holy waters.
650			_aFiction
650			_aHindu pilgrims and pilgrimages
650			_aKumbha Mela
650			_aTravelogue
650			_a Personal tragedies
650			_a Prayag
942			_2ddc _cBK