On the road to Mansarovar...

In an attempt to strengthen Sino-Indian ties and promote world peace, 198 select yatris will leave for a month-long pilgrimage on Saturday, July 26, to Mansarovar and Mount Kailas in Tibet, China.

The event, which has been titled A Prayer For World Peace, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence and the 500th birth anniversary of Sant Tulsidas.

The holy pilgrimage, complete with a 100 kw and two 10 kw generators, tents and other equipment, will be led by Rashtriya Sant, Morari Bapu. At Mount Kailas, the final camp will be at 22.028 feet above sea level.

In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailas has been described as the fantastic world pillar around which everything else revolves. Lord Shiva is said to have first recited the Ramayan to goddess Parvati here.

The yatra is organised by the United Kingdom's Indo-British Cultural Exchange. "For Hindus this is the path to paradise, and drinking from the Mansarovar lake will absolve the sins of a hundred lifetimes," says chairman Praful Patel.

The youngest among the pilgrims is a 17-year-old girl while the oldest is a 72-year-old man.

Patel said the Cultural Exchange is organising a Ramayana recitation on the banks of Mansarovar. The Manas-Kailas Ram katha will be recited by Morari Bapu, he said.

The yatris will travel by road from Lhasa to reach Mount Kailas. A large number of trucks and landcruisers, equipped with high quality communication equipment and specialised medicare facilities, have been organised.

UNI