Maha Kumbh Mela begins

The Maha Kumbh began on January 14 morning with lakhs of devotees as well as ascetics and religious leaders of various orders converging on the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati in Allahabad for a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

The inaugural day of the two-month-long congregation, often described as the "greatest show on earth", was marked by the first "Shahi Snan" of 13 "akharas" wherein Naga Sadhus - a martial order of ascetics who move about either naked or scantily clad with matted hair and ash smeared bodies marched to Sangam in processions with their leaders perched atop ornately decorated elephants, horses and chariots and musical bands in attendance in a unique blend of austerity and opulence.

The first to move out were Mahanirvani and Atal Akharas, followed by Niranjani and Anand and then Joona, Awahan and Agni.
They are to be followed by Nirvani Ani, Digambar Ani and Nirmohi and Naya Udasin, Bara Udasin and Nirmal akharas in the same order fixed during the British period following a violent clash among ascetics of different akharas at a kumbh congregation.
The akharas have been allotted fixed time, ranging from 30 minutes to about an hour depending upon the size of their respective procession, for bathing with routes for going to and returning from Sangam so separated as to ward off possibility of members of rival akharas coming in contact with each other.
Devotees from across the country had started pouring in since on Sunday evening and the influx continues despite cold weather and elaborate security arrangements on account of which bathers are being made to park their vehicles several kilometres away from the holy confluence and reach the Sangam on foot.
Vehicular traffic has been banned on most of the roads in the city from Sunday till Tuesday to facilitate movement of people.
The "Shahi Snan", which is a star attraction of the event, began at around 6 AM as curious, awestruck onlookers gathered on both sides of the over-a-kilometre-long road of metallic chequered plates on which the processions of "akharas" proceeded towards the Sangam.  

The Mela, held every 12 years, will go on for next two months and will conclude on Maha Shivaratri on 10th March.
The administration is expecting a nearly 10 per cent rise in pilgrims attending the mass Hindu pilgrimage this year compared to the previous Maha Kumbh held in Allahabad in 2001. 

Inclusion of Western Ghats in UNESCO List

The Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that 39 locations in the Western Ghats in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been inscribed as a World Heritage Site in the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 36th session of World Heritage Committee held in July, 2012 at St. Petersburg, Russia. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said, the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) establishes National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. Central assistance is provided to the States. No statutory authority is set up for the conservation of the world heritage sites in the Western Ghats.

!Khwa ttu Awarded Golden Shield Heritage Award

Natural Justice partner !Khwa ttu, the San Education and Cultural Centre, has won the inaugural Golden Shield Heritage Award in the Outstanding Community Project category awarded by the National Heritage Council (NHC), the South African government institution responsible for "the preservation of the country's heritage." The Outstanding Community Project category recognises exceptional achievement for NHC projects that contribute to changing lives in the communities it targets and contribute towards making communities aware of their heritage, contribute towards poverty alleviation, and empower communities with skills for self-sustenance.

!Khwa ttu is a training centre for San youth on heritage and skills and has a fully equipped conference centre and restaurant. Its work is based on the theme “A celebration of the San culture, present and past, for a better future”. Its mission statement emphasises the restoration of the heritage of the San,  educating the general public about the world of the San, and providing training to the San in various areas.

Natural Justice is collaborating with !Khwa ttu in developing training workshops for San youth based at !Khwa ttu. The trainings will cover relevant national and international legal instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nation's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and intellectual property law relevant to indigenous plants and associated traditional knowledge. It will include case studies on claiming traditional knowledge over Rooibos and Honeybush.  

Read more about the Golden Shield Heritage Award at The New Age here. Read more about !Khwa ttu on their website here.