Revered Hindu holy men lead thousands of pilgrims to bathe in the Ganges river
(18 Jan 2007) 1. Various early morning procession of Naga sadhus (ash smeared holy men) heading towards the Ganges river 2. Mid shot man wearing costume and carrying sword in the procession 3. Holy men carrying flags 4. Various of Naga sadhus in procession 5. Chariot in the procession as the sun rises 6. Wide of security guards at the Ganges river 7. Crowd watching the Naga sadhus 8. Pan right to left of security guards at festival 9. Various of Naga sadhus returning after bathing 10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Holger Gross, German tourist: "Its a bit strange for us Germans to see so many people coming to one place, enjoying, hearing the prayers and lots of people. For us its really bizarre in a way." 11. Wide of crowd gathered at the banks of Ganges for ritual bathing 12. Mid shot people bathing 13. Rear view of holy man performing ritual of offering water to the Sun God 14. Boats filled with pilgrims 15. Mid shot holy man 16. Wide shot holy men in camp 17. Mid shot holy man smoking Charras (Marajuana) 18. Wide of naked sadhu sitting cross legged. 19. Decorated trident 20. Wide of Holy man Baba Amar Bharti with a disciple who lights his chillum pipe 21. Holy man smoking the chillum pipe tilt up to raised hand with long finger nails 22. Mid shot holy man smoking 23. Wide holy men smoking in camp 24. Close up of visitor smoking 25. Tourist taking a photo of holy man wearing beads that cover his entire body 26. Close up holy man wearing beads 27. Mid shot holy man giving ash to devotees as a blessing 28. Mid shot poster of Shiva, Hindu God of destruction 29. Rear view of Holy man covered with beads 30. SOUNDBITE: (Hindi) Baba Vishwanath Giri, Holy man "Kumbh is where you can see the holy men who have gathered here from near and afar. Just by seeing them you can get rid of your sins." 31. Women praying and washing clothes in the Ganges river 32. Woman putting leaf with flame in the water as a mark of devotion to the Ganges river. 33. Plastic bags and flower waste floating in the river 34. Various of cleaners using brooms to remove rubbish from the water 35. Various of holy man Baba Khadeshwari standing on one leg 36. People watching Baba Khadeshwari 37. Rear view of Baba Khadeshwari standing on one leg 38. SOUNDBITE: (Hindi) Sukhdeva Nanda Bharti, Holy man: "The water is not the same anymore. Water from the factories has polluted the Ganges river. The holy men want change. We call the water from the Ganges 'Our Mother'. It should be kept clean." 39. SOUNDBITE: (Hindi) Baba Vishwanath Giri, Holy man: "Waste water from the factories is being drained out into the river. This should be stopped and pure water should flow along the Ganges." 40. Various of holy man dancing and chanting with pot balanced on his head 41. People watching and chanting 42. Various of holy men arriving on horses and chariots 43. Rear view of procession LEAD IN: Religious leaders in India are threatening to boycott the country's most famous Hindu festival. The "Ardh Kumbh Mela" or Half Grand Pitcher Festival is one of the largest gatherings in the world. Every 6 years some 70 million pilgrims head to Allahabad in northern India to bathe in the sacred waters of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. But the festival has been blighted this year by thousands of pilgrims protesting that the rivers are too polluted to bathe in. The festival started on 3rd January 2007 and lasts 45 days. Two of the biggest bathing days of the festival are January 19 and 23. STORY LINE A German tourist says it's a bizarre sight. Keyword-religion Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
