‘Scholar gypsies’ soak in the Kumbh

TRIMBAKESHWAR: Holding up his umbrella above a sea of jostling bystanders, Mathieu Boisvert watches a procession of dressed-up elephants, saffron chariots and redclothed sadhus stomp along the narrow, muddy streets of Trimbakeshwar.
As the roar of the drums and bugles fade at a distance, the 40-something blond professor’s transfixed gaze follows the dusty trail.For him, the Kumbh Mela is more than just exotic seduction. His engagement is a little more cerebral.
For the teacher of Hi n dui sm and Buddhism from Montreal University — as also his four students — the event is a window to a cultural ly and spiritually ancient nation that has one foot in the gigabyte world of tomorrow.
Most Western scholars and students who have come to study the giant roadshow of faith believe they have a deeper involvement with India than John Lennon, Ringo Starr and the hippies.
They do not seek the cryogenic high of hash or spiritual gloss of gurus— they are looking for simple facts, slices of life and the elusive pulse of a diverse people. “Within each Indian, there is a dichotomy between modernity and tradition—the young and the ancient,’’ says Tyler Jason Neyhart, a 21-year-old anthropology research scholar from Philadelphia, US, who has made Nashik his second home.
He is doing a study on ‘Sadhus and Their Relationship with Contemporary Indian Society’. “Sadhus represent the traditional area of the Indian psyche. Their role seems to be of an anchor,’’ he says. He believes he is one of the newgeneration researchers who are moving away from a colonial mindset.
“Westerners get attracted to Indian philosophy. It teaches them to slow down, reflect,’’ he says. With business and political ties between the US and India having improved in recent years, the social engagement has also become more relaxed and deeper, he adds.
The Canadian team of scholars has a more specific central area of study—the ‘jajman’ relationship between the purohit (priest) and the yatris (pilgrims).
As sub-texts, Mr Boisvert’s students— Anouk Fortier,Catherine Germain, Sophie Durocher and Jonathan Voyer—are exploring themes like women pilgrims, the role of the Ramayana in the Kumbh and some sects of saints.
Mr Boisvert is especially interested in the comparative study of the four Kumbhs—Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.