PRAYAGRAJ: The lives and ways of living of sadhus and seers are an enigma for people, and the several feet long dreadlocks dangling from their shoulders and their queer arrangements draw curious gazes and are a big attraction.
The strange hairdos of matted hair and dreadlocks of sadhus camping at Akhil Bharatiya Shri Panch Terah Bhai Tyagi Akhara at Khak Chowk at the ongoing Magh Mela are fascinating visitors, including foreigners, who are keen to know the secrets of their unique hairstyles.
Around 150 ash-smeared, semi-clad sadhus, busy in hatha yoga and various other religious and spiritual activities at Tapasvi Nagar face a barrage of questions from visitors and answer them without fuss.
Sadhus say every second visitor wants to see their hair and asks them how they maintain it.
Swami Gopal Das, camping at Akhil Bharatiya Shri Panch Terah Bhai Tyagi camp, has over eight-foot long dreadlocks.
He says, “Majority of sadhus wear their hair in thick dreadlocks called jataa.” “Sadhus are known for their jataas which are an integral part of their spiritual pursuits and help them to connect with God,” he added. “We only use Multani Mitti (Fuller’s earth) to wash our hair. All sadhus wash their hair in the water of river Ganga once in 10 days or in a fortnight,” Swami Gopal Das said.
“People are curious and think we make a lot of efforts but it’s not so, though it’s not easy. We become experts in maintaining our dreadlocks gradually and don’t use any soap or chemicals. The dreadlocks are our pride and help in our spiritual progress,” he added.
Das said he has not cut his hair since childhood and now his jataas are two feet longer than his height. Another sadhu, Sewa Das said, “There are some sadhus who have jataas ranging from 10 to 35 feet. Maintaining them is an art and we know how to bind the hair. It took me over 20 years to get seven-foot dreadlocks.”Most sadhus arrange their jataas like a crown on their head, and often too big than their faces.