Episode 56 - Banaras and Pandharpur: Two Indian Pilgrimage Shrines

So you think the Camino is crowded? You should check out pilgrimage in India. It holds the record for the largest single-day attendance at a pilgrimage event--an estimated 50 million people at the Kumbh Mela in 2019. This episode explores pilgrimage in India through a closer examination of two sacred cities: Banaras and Pandharpur. Dr. Diana Eck, author of Banaras: City of Light and India: A Sacred Geography, shares insights on the former, while Deepak Phadnis, author of Pandharpur Wari: A Walking Pilgrimage to Pandharpur, describes his walk to the latter. This introduction to Indian pilgrimage also offers a useful lens through which to look back upon the Camino and see some fascinating points of comparison.