(400 million people are expected to gather at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers near the city of Prayagraj for a holy dip from January 13 to February 26, 2025. This 45-day festival is called Kumbh Mela. I will be visiting this festival from February 1-5, 2025.)
Just before I headed for the Kumbh Mela, my country (the USA) removed the “transgender” category from federal recognition on one end, while on the other end, my birth country (India) was celebrating the world’s largest religious festival with a transgender Akhara (pronounced “Akhada”) at the forefront of its celebration. Transgender monks held exactly the same religious importance and the same priorities for the holy bathing ritual in the Ganga. Kinnar Akhara was in the news all over India as a Bollywood actress was inducted into this tradition during the Kumbh. But clearly, the presence of Kinnars (transgender people) was a profound demonstration of an accommodative society beyond sensational Bollywood news, not just at the Kumbh but also in Indian traditions for several millennia.
There are thirteen Akharas with more than half a million male, female, and transgender sadhus (monks) that have formed the pillars of Kumbh for at least one and a half millennia. Akhara literally means a field for wrestling. However, in the spiritual context, these are Hindu monastic institutions that were established in the 5th century AC by sage Adi Shankaracharya with the primary purpose of continuing diverse Hindu traditions and protecting Hinduism. Monks in their respective Akharas are trained in meditation, scriptures, and rituals, as well as in traditional Indian weaponry and martial arts. Three of the 13 Akharas also have Sikh affiliations.
Kinnar Akhara was formed in 2016 and then became part of one of the main Akharas called Juna (meaning “old”) Akhara with Kinnar’s distinct identity. Since then, they have been participating in the Kumbh. Although not explicitly a transgender deity, the Ardhanarishwar, representing half male (Lord Shiva) and half female (Goddess Parvati), is worshipped all over India. Additionally, transgender people characters play key roles in Hindu scriptures, such as the Mahabharata. While, women, men or transgender can attain the highest spiritual level through their own perseverance, as rightfully pointed out by my friend and college mate Aziz, the transgender community is still frequently shunned by mainstream society in India. Such is the complexity of Indian society.
So, ultimately what does Kinnar Akhara represent? I feel that it represents a broader acceptance of everyday human experiences. In my limited reading of Hindu dharma, this openness to diverse human experiences is one of the main hallmarks of Indian philosophies and history. Since Hindu Dharma is contextual and non-prescriptive in its approach, embracing new cultures, thoughts, and lifestyles must have been practically easier to incorporate into its philosophies. Even atheism (example, Samkhya philosophy) and materialism (known as Charvaka philosophy proposed by sage Charvaka) are accepted philosophies in Hinduism, and Indian temples do not hesitate to display sexual depictions even in sanctums sanctorum. And then, both consciously and subconsciously, such tendencies might have permeated through all aspects of life, influencing societal attitudes and practices, free from taboos, hesitations, or dogmatic constraints.
Am I taking a leap of faith with such an argument? I don’t think so. Historical accounts suggest that when Hindu dharma was being overwhelmed by extreme ritualism and faced potential extinction in the fourth century BCE, Buddhist philosophies inadvertently helped to revive Hinduism. And how did Hinduism reward Buddha? Buddha became one of the ten reincarnations of Lord Vishnu in North India, despite his initiation of another competing religion. India’s history is marked by the arrival of diverse religious and cultural groups. St. Thomas (one of the 12 apostles of Christianity) visited South India in 52 CE and spread Christianity in India. Jews found refuge in India after the fall of the Second Temple. Zoroastrians sought sanctuary on the west coast, and they became the richest businessmen in modern India. Later, the Mughals, British, and Portuguese brought their influences. Recently, the Dalai Lama found asylum in India. The exiled Afghan government was based in India. This tradition of welcoming diverse groups continues to shape India’s cultural landscape. Can you imagine that after the 2024 Cricket World Cup, the Afghan cricket team captain stated, “We learned ‘love’ from India”?
These diverse groups of migrants and refugees enriched India’s cultural tapestry with their traditions, ideas, and practices. For instance, Portuguese potatoes and tapioca became an integral part of staple foods in religious fasting diets. Most Indians don’t even realize that the incredible 2,500-year-old Indian classical music tradition adopted the harmonium, tabla (a percussion instrument), and violin just 200-400 years ago from Europe and the Middle East. India is the largest democracy, thanks to British influence. But while the rest of the democratic world banned communism in their countries, two states in India were ruled by the Communist Party until just a few years ago. The all-pervasive English language, initially introduced by colonizers, has become the common medium of communication in India. Hundreds of cuisines and languages, thousands of words, so many sects and subsects, and architectures like the Taj Mahal, all are now as integral to Indian identity as much as the ancient epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
This potpourri of cultures thrives, and diversity is celebrated all over India. It never had to become a “melting pot.” The conventional Western dichotomy of “conservatism” versus “liberalism” doesn’t exist here, because India incessantly adapts to new ideas. India isn’t just a nation, culture, and philosophy; it’s a constantly changing, vibrant, dynamic “concept.” This adaptability might explain why India remains one of only two surviving ancient civilizations.
For me, Kinnar Akhara represents this core ethos of Indian philosophies and a highlight of Kumbh Mela.
-Nitin Dadhi Anturkar (24th Feb, 2025)
Nitin, loved your compelling arguments for why India is more like a dynamic, vibrant and ever-changing landscape than just a nation; giving many historical evidences.
Would love to read your observations after the actual visit.
Personally, I feel…we are just one tiny “pale blue-dot” in the big scheme of things…why make such big fuss about one tinier spot in India and call it holier than other places. It is SAME holy or unholy everywhere on this “pale blue dot” for me. I would rather make my backyard or my tiny bath “divine” than taking a dip somewhere else. And talk about ‘washing away sins’…forget it. Definitely not the way to do it!
Excellently written and very informative article Dadhi! Waiting for your next one.
Nitin, great read. But I must point out that there is doubt about the ninth Avatar. He is named as Gautama but I don’t think he is explicitly identified as Gautama Buddha. The jury is still out on that
Hi Nitin I will also like to know your personal experience after attending kumbha mela e.g your mental satisfaction, your inner peace etc. May be you might cover those kind of things in your next posts.
Nitin, you have touched upon many issues in this single article. I guess that experiencing the vast sea of humanity at the Kumbha must have made you think of many different things – antiquity, democracy, inclusiveness, tolerance, and so on. India does have a unique approach to each of these aspects, however, because of the hundreds of years of foreign influence, most of the Indian thought has only been viewed from a Western lens.
Take Democracy, for example. India has had democracy at a local level for millennia. The Khap Panchayat in some Northern provinces; the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan; the Shura councils in Iran are some surviving examples of that. Michel Danino has a number of talks that explain local democracy as it was in India hundreds of years ago. Check the short video in the link below.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Lz0CRPdTHDA?si=2ogWrb040_bl1GPU
The British merely promoted a scale-up that suited their central rule. Whether the democracy works well at such a big scale is a moot point. Not much research has gone into this because democracy has been assumed to be a cure-all solution. Sadly, the global power structures have sought to destroy local democracies at many places. The aggressive religions have attacked Khap panchayats through legal activism in last few decades.
Of course, I have now digressed and gone too far off the main topic, the Kumbha, so I will stop here.
Indian culture open and dynamic ; starting from sanatan with adoption of all cultures. But, the Indian Political agenda always try to divide the Religion including culture at every stage .
Hope everyone should rise up to the great culture we being Indians.