Devotees of Shiva, Haridwar

From the archive record

Kanwarias are so called because they carry a kanwar or pole on their shoulder with the covered water pots balanced on its two ends. Lakhs of saffron-clad pilgrims carrying water collected from the Ganga in Haridwar, Gangotri or Gaumukh (the glacier from where the Ganga originates) in Uttaranchal, return to their hometowns to consecrate the lingams as a gesture of thanksgiving to Siva. Kanwarias chants of bol bam and Har Har Mahadev are heard at this time. Kanwarias take holy dip in the ganges. This footage is part of the professionally-shot stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition