Kshipra Chunari Mahotsava at Simhastha Maha Kumbh 2016

A beautiful and grand Chunari Mahotsav was organized on the holy banks of the River Kshipra during the Simhastha Kumbha Mahaparv with the blessings and inspiration of Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, President of Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh), Co-Founder of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance and Founder of the Ganga Action Parivar. The ceremony was blessed and joined by Pujya Acharya Pundrik Goswamiji, eminent Kathakar, who also led an important sankalp (pledge) to bring an end to the practice of open defecation as well as to keep our sacred rivers free from pollution. The traditional and ceremonial wrapping of a very long piece of sari cloth serves as an offering to the Divine Goddess, who in the Indian spiritual tradition has taken the form of a river, was combined with a reminder by Pujya Swamiji to ensure that the banks of the actual water body are adorned with greenery and are kept clean and green as they too honour, beautify and preserve the essence of the Divine Mother.