Faith, it is said, has great powers. It can heal, cure and even feed mouths. And this is exactly what faith appears to be doing in the case of dozens of youngmen who are busy fishing out coins and even gold and silver from the Ganga bed.
It is faith which makes devotees offer precious metals and coins to the holy river which has turned out to be the source of income for these youngmen.
Defying the cold waters and inclement weather they spend hours trying to feel the metal by moving their soles in the river bed. The coin is lifted with the help of the fingers and kept safely. The search for the next coin begins and the process goes on. On an average one person picks up 100 to 150 coins per day during the month of Magh here.
Bhanu, who lives in one of the shanties on the Parade Ground has already picked up more than 3,000 coins ever since the Magh Mela began. His friend Tulsi Ram is richer by about Rs 9,000. This is because he struck gold pieces twice besides a good catch of coins. He has already sold the gold in the market and is feeling much happier. These days he is vigorously engaged in his daily job in the hope of finding more gold and silver.
From nose buds to ear rings it can be in any form. Last year's Magh Mela turned out to be a boon for him. He had found a broken piece of gold bangle which had fetched him good money. It was solid gold probably offered by a devotee, he said.
{{/usCountry}}From nose buds to ear rings it can be in any form. Last year's Magh Mela turned out to be a boon for him. He had found a broken piece of gold bangle which had fetched him good money. It was solid gold probably offered by a devotee, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Well, this isn't the only way to fish out the coins. Those who do not want to enter into the cold water have come out with another novel way to fish out the coins. With powerful magnets tied to a long string dozens of boys are engaged in fishing out coins from the river these days. They can be seen all along the course of the river from Phaphamau to Sangam. It is mostly between these two places where one can easily find the coins because of the existence of bathing ghats, says Raja in his teens. Within an hour after the Makar Sankranti bathing festival he had managed to pick up 63 coins from the river bed.
However, there's a negative side to the use of magnets. They cannot pick up gold and silver. So those with the magnets have to be content with the finding of coins alone. The old saying that hard work pays more dividends gets well with those who stand in waist deep waters for hours and strike gold and silver also besides with the coins.