PRAYAGRAJ: It’s 4am. There’s not even a faint light on the horizon signaling the crack of the dawn, and its chilling cold out there on the Magh Mela ground, with not much activity visible even in the tents of most kalpwasis, who are probably still in deep slumber, but the camp of Aum Waheguru Rishi Ashram in Sector 2 is bustling with activity and its volunteers are getting ready to serve.
These volunteers, from different states and countries, come from diverse backgrounds, with some holding key positions in different government and non-government sectors across the globe. Among them are US-based bankers, Ireland-based restaurant owners and New Zealand-based FM channel partners, all have voluntarily taken out time to serve seers and saints, devotees and the poor at the annual spiritual congregation Magh Mela.
Interestingly, these volunteers do their routine, allotted tasks silently and are not ready to get their names and designation printed in the newspaper. They say they have come to the Aum Waheguru Rishi Ashram on Mela campus only to serve. The volunteers are allotted duties shift-wise at the Ashram camp and help manage and run the community kitchen.
They start serving tea and light breakfast from 7am, then serve lunch from 12 noon and dinner before sunset, and start working much before day break and till late night to do all the preparations in a fixed chart of routine activities.
The smell of different flavours wafts through the air in the camp as meals are being cooked and make the stomach grumble.
A senior volunteer associated with camp management said, “Sant Shri Harbansh Sahib Jee of Aum Waheguru Rishi Ashram and his followers have been camping in every Magh Mela for more than 30 years. The food is served to seers, saints, and devotees in the camp daily.”
“All the seers, devotees and people coming to the camp for community feast are also given money upto Rs 30 on normal days and Rs 100 on the main Snan days.”
There are 350 volunteers, including six from aboard, serving at the camp this year, a dip in numbers due to corona pandemic. Otherwise, there used to be not less than 500 volunteers at our camp every year, he added.
Interestingly, around 90% volunteers are professionals and the rest house wives.
There is not much difference in allocation of work, but male volunteers manage crowd and serving.
From chopping vegetables to kneading flour, cleaning lentils and rice, cooking meals, cleaning utensils and sweeping floors, all activities are done by the volunteers with enthusiasm. They are allotted work in shifts to ensure round-the-clock operations.
The bhandara started from Makar Sankranti and will continue till Maghi Purnima.