In high spirits at Kalasanghian

jalandhar: what does bacchus of greek mythology and baba kahn das of kalasanghian village, 15 km from here, have in common. both were lovers of wine, and while bacchus had his flock of poets and revellers, baba kahn das has his believing devotees all over the world, for it was after praying at his holy dera that they have got entry to far-off lands and to prosperity.many claimed to have got sons after praying here.whatever the wish granted, the parshad at his dera is actually liquor. liquor of all brands, from desi homebrewed stuff to whisky of all brands, even chivas regal, is commonly distributed daily. no wonder that at the dera and on the roads leading to villages, there are lot of taps and water pumps.after showering the ritual drops at the dera, the nris stand on the roadside and offer liquor to the passers-by. apparently, the excise act does not apply at this dera which is adjoining a gurdwara, where the devotees go to for langar. on the walls outside the gurdwara it is written in bold letters that going inside after taking liquor is prohibited. however, the show goes on. it is open practice for devotees to offer several bottles of liquor, along with a string of akhand paths to be conducted in the gurdwara. the day when a fair is held, which is on masya (moonless night) each month, the dera ground is full. all sorts of people come here to make offerings of booze and akhand paths? all those who had their sukhna fulfilled. people of all castes. there are a large number of daily wagers who descend on the dera after their work hours.there are thousands of residents of gha mandi, the bastis and bhargav camp who have been visiting this dera.the number of these people has been increasing day by day, it is learnt. more and more laid off workers from the rubber industry and the leather industry visit the dera for free drinks. the loudspeaker at the dera is most of the day delivering ''bhajans based on punjabi pop''. there is an odd mixture of the allusions to the first sikh guru. devotees, who are mostly emaciated, worn out and diseased persons who have lost their jobs in the factories of jalandhar, hang around all day and this continues all through the month. the fair on masya is special as it is attended by a large number of people. on a single day, you could see around 100 queued up to receive the parshad. the head sewadar when asked about the dera, said, ''baba kahn das himself used to drink a kind of ark made from various things. he was quite fond of it. somehow, the tradition has changed and people have started offering huge amounts of liquor.this is the parshad at the dera, he said. varinder kumar of lallian kalan, who has come back from a successful trip to the us, said: ''i have given an offering of 12 bottles of red knight. i have also called for an akhand path. nobody is shocked here by the odd mixture of religion and liquor. the sant hira das kanya mahavidyalaya, adjoining the dera, is closed down on the day of masya. on that day, it is said, you can see devotees lying on the roadsides in an advanced state of intoxication.