Author: Himanshi Dhawan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: September 5 2009
Who says the path to nirvana has to be paved
with abstinence and detachment? Certainly not the organizers of Indian spiritual
cruises, which offer pravachan (religious discourse), vegetarian food and
meditation in the midst of opulence and the occasional vice.
Spiritual leaders like Mridul Maharaj and
Baba Ramdev, followed by a throng of devotees, are opting to cruise to overseas
destinations like southeast Asia and Europe. They typically board large cruise
liners, which have other passengers as well, for a spiritual high on the high
seas. So, in these liners, a Lido theatre that may be entertaining a noisy
crowd with its topless shows at night, is transformed into a samadhan meeting
with chants reverberating in the wee hours of the morning. Hyderabad-based
software company promoter Govind Kabra, who has been organizing tours of spiritual
leaders for the past three years through the non-profit Dharmik Yatra Trust,
said the popularity of such group tours was increasing. ''Till a few years
ago, there were about 1,000-1,500 people taking such cruises each year. Now,
the number has gone up to 15,000 or more,'' he said. About 80% of the participants
are people living in India while the rest are NRIs.
Kabra said such groups had special requirements,
including supper at midnight when kathas were on, ''masala tea that Indians
seem to prefer'' and a vast range of vegetarian food that has no onion, ginger
or garlic. ''We offer a choice of about 70-80 dishes that are turned out at
every meal. Kathas are restricted to 3-4 hours a day so that people spend
the rest of the time sightseeing or exploring the ship,'' Kabra further said.
The trips, usually organized in the ''non-marriage season'' from July-August
and in January after Sankranti, are very popular. Experts feel that these
cruises, priced at about $150-200 a night, fill a gap that the industry had
earlier ignored. Royal Caribbean's Gautam Chadha said, ''The trend is gathering
momentum. Spiritual cruises were popular amongst NRIs but now Indians are
also following suit.''
