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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Kolhapur’s Pilgrimage Paradox

Kolhapur: Even as the state government clears the first tranche of Rs 1,500 crore under an ambitious Rs 5,000-crore plan for the development of Kolhapur as a major pilgrimage centre, the ground reality for devotees tells a far less reassuring story. Each month, the temple’s donation boxes swell by an estimated Rs two crore, while crores more lie parked in bank deposits earning interest. Yet, for the thousands who arrive daily to seek the blessings of Goddess Ambabai, the journey to the...

Kolhapur’s Pilgrimage Paradox

Kolhapur: Even as the state government clears the first tranche of Rs 1,500 crore under an ambitious Rs 5,000-crore plan for the development of Kolhapur as a major pilgrimage centre, the ground reality for devotees tells a far less reassuring story. Each month, the temple’s donation boxes swell by an estimated Rs two crore, while crores more lie parked in bank deposits earning interest. Yet, for the thousands who arrive daily to seek the blessings of Goddess Ambabai, the journey to the sanctum begins with an ordeal—walking barefoot on scorching roads under an unforgiving sun. With temperatures in Kolhapur soaring past 40°C, asphalt and concrete roads leading to the temple radiate intense heat. For devotees—many of whom travel hundreds of kilometres—this translates into a painful trek, quite literally. The situation is particularly harsh for senior citizens, who are often seen hopping from one foot to another in a desperate attempt to avoid the burning surface. In such conditions, the absence of even basic protective arrangements raises uncomfortable questions about priorities in pilgrimage infrastructure. Stark Irony The irony is stark. While policy blueprints and financial approvals move through bureaucratic channels, immediate, low-cost interventions remain unaddressed. Simple measures—laying heat-resistant carpets along key approach roads, ensuring regular water sprinkling to cool surfaces, and erecting temporary shaded canopies—could significantly ease the devotees’ distress. Such steps do not demand massive outlays, only administrative initiative. As chairperson of the temple trust, the Kolhapur District Collector is uniquely positioned to catalyse this response. The summer vacation period only amplifies the challenge. Families flock to Kolhapur in large numbers, often combining visits to Ambabai temple with pilgrimages to nearby shrines such as Jyotiba. The surge in footfall transforms the temple precinct into a sea of humanity. Yet, the infrastructure has failed to keep pace. A similar concern was flagged last year as well, with limited, ad hoc relief provided by a few local traders who laid makeshift carpets for their customers. This year, however, little appears to have changed. Humane Pilgrimage The issue, therefore, is not merely administrative—it is collective. The responsibility to ensure a humane pilgrimage experience cannot rest solely with the temple trust or the municipal corporation. Traders and business associations operating in the temple vicinity, who benefit from the steady influx of devotees, must also step forward. Kolhapur has historically demonstrated remarkable civic spirit during festivals such as Navratri and the Rathotsav. Extending that ethos to provide shaded pathways during peak summer would be a meaningful gesture of reciprocity. Across India, leading pilgrimage centres have invested in visitor comfort—air-conditioned waiting areas, chilled drinking water, and clean sanitation facilities are increasingly the norm. In many cases, nominal user charges are levied, and devotees are willing to pay for such services. Kolhapur risks falling behind if it does not address these gaps with urgency. At its core, the issue is one of dignity. Devotion should not come at the cost of physical distress. Until basic amenities are ensured, the promise of transforming Kolhapur into a premier religious tourism hub will remain incomplete. For now, the pilgrim’s experience continues to echo a troubling refrain: first the searing heat beneath the feet, and only then, the grace of the goddess.

American Hellhole

US President’s Donald Trump’s latest lapse of judgment wherein he amplified a post that branded India a “hellhole” might have been dismissed as yet another crude flourish in a career built on provocation. But the timing renders it something darker. Even as he recycled insults about foreign lands, gunfire echoed once again in the heart of his own.


Secret Service agents again rushed the President to safety as shots rang out near the Washington Hilton during the correspondents’ dinner. The suspected gunman, Cole Tomas Allen, arrived with multiple weapons and a manifesto sent to his family minutes before the attack, laying out his intent to target senior administration officials.


This echoed the July 2024 campaign rally shooting in Pennsylvania, when an assailant opened fire at Trump, wounding him. In America, even its most guarded spaces are not immune. The country and the world have now become inured to such episodes.


Gun culture is so rampant that anyone can build a small arsenal and rain fire in American schools, churches or political gatherings, that are routinely transformed into theatres of violence. While certain bigoted American citizens casually dub countries with a civilization and culture they can scarcely comprehend as a ‘hellhole,’ their own country – touted the world’s most powerful democracy cannot imagine itself without the constant hum of gunfire in the background.


And yet Trump chooses to endorse such offending remarks, which were originally made by a conservative radio host and casually relayed by the President on his Truth Social account. Trump’s retweeting of the anti-India post is supremely ironic while America struggles with dysfunction that is both visible and visceral.


America has normalised a peculiar blend of ultra-permissiveness and institutional paralysis: a culture where firearms circulate with ease, opioids ravage communities and an of consumption has become a civic condition. America’s deeper malaise is embedded in its culture of consumption. This is a society that has elevated acquisition into identity. The result is material plenty paired with dire social fragmentation. It is a country that prides itself on liberty, yet seems increasingly captive to its own extremes.


The hypocrisy deepens in its foreign policy. Trump leans on Pakistan, a failed state that harbours and enables extremist networks, while sermonising to others about order and civility.


The irony is sharpened by the diplomatic context as Trump once boasted of warm ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those ties have since cooled, frayed by tariffs Trump imposed on India, only to be tentatively rewoven through ongoing trade negotiations. At this delicate moment, rhetorical recklessness on Trump’s part is not merely impolite but strategically foolish. Great powers do not build alliances by insulting each other’s dignity.


But Trump has long treated language as a blunt instrument. From branding Somali immigrants “garbage” to deriding entire nations, his vocabulary is one long performance of disdain.


Ultimately, the crudest insults often tell us less about their targets than about those who utter them.

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