英闻天下——193 Travel Blog: India Festival

 　　For millions of devout¹ Hindus, it is time yet again to soak in the spiritual energy of what is perhaps the world's largest religious gathering² - the Maha Kumbh mela or Grand Pitcher³ Festival.

 

　　The 55-day festival is being held in the holy city of Allahabad, on the banks of the revered⁴ Ganges River.

 

　　The festival kicked off on Jan 14 with millions of Hindu devotees taking a bath at the confluence⁵ of three rivers - holy Ganga, Yamuna and mythical⁶ Saraswati -　to cleanse⁷ their sins. Here is Hindu devotee Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　"There is faith, there is total, the old tradition that had carried on. And water, I mean the river itself, the mother itself. It's not just a river. It has such great value, properties to it."

 

　　The Kumbh mela is organized four times every 12 years in those towns. It is a congregation like no other, bringing together millions of Hindu faithful including the naked ascetics⁸, nirvana seekers and admirers of Indian spiritual traditions.

 

　　According to Hindu mythology⁹, the Kumbh mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons¹⁰ in a furious battle over nectar that would give them immortality¹¹. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns; Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

 

　　Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed¹².

 

　　The numbers of pilgrims grow with every Kumbh mela. To arrange logistics for a religious congregation of this size and scale is always a challenge.

 

　　About 50-thousand policemen have been deployed¹³ to keep order at the festival, fearing everything from terrorist attacks to the ever-present danger of human stampedes.

 

　　Organizers have installed global positioning systems, online maps and giant LED screens to flash messages and images.

 

　　Inspector¹⁴ General of Police in Allahabad Alok Sharma says they have a great deal of technology at their disposal.

 

　　"It's a huge leap as far as technology is concerned. Now we are in a world we are using all forms of technology for communication - from 3G to internet telephoning, to bulk SMSs to a normal wireless¹⁵, CCTV systems and last but not the least, one to one telephones that communicate between two points, the critical points which are totally fail-safe, like the bridges."

 

　　But not everyone among the tens of millions of visitors is familiar with the latest devices available. Here is Sharma.

 

　　"Not everyone who comes to the mela is educated. Not everyone who comes to the mela is very confident about moving around. They all are very scared because of the crowds, just the sheer numbers. So we have to guide them by the basic principle of guiding, by word of mouth and by symbols and signals. So it is a mixture of modernity and traditionalism as far as technology and the way we function is concerned."

 

　　The Kumbh mela also attracts global devotees from many Western countries, who have been ordained¹⁶ in the hierarchy¹⁷ of Hindu religious sects¹⁸ and have chosen to live like holy men. While for others it is a personal journey of discovery.

 

　　Over 110 million people are expected to take a dip in the waters before the Kumbh mela ends on March 10.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan¹⁹.

1 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

4 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

5 confluence   

n.汇合，聚集

参考例句：

• They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.他们建造了城市的汇合两条河流。
• The whole DV movements actually was a confluence of several trends.整个当时的DV运动，实际上是几股潮流的同谋。

6 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

7 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

8 ascetics   

n.苦行者，禁欲者，禁欲主义者( ascetic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• How does Paul's teaching differ from that of the ascetics about celibacy? 关于独身，保罗的教导与禁欲主义的教导有什麽分别？ 来自互联网
• Nevertheless, it is known that Hindu ascetics occasionally visited Greece. 然而，众所周知，印度的苦行僧偶然会拜访希腊。 来自互联网

9 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

10 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

12 cleansed   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
• The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有，许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

14 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

15 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

16 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

17 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

18 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

19 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。