NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 8 Figs. 8.7 and 8.8 — THINK ABOUT IT

Look at the two pictures first. Fig. 8.7 shows the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj — a river bank packed with people, and behind them row upon row of tents, stalls and lights. Fig. 8.8 shows the ghats of a river town — tall buildings that are lodges and dharamshalas, boats tied at the steps, and priests and visitors on the steps. Both pictures are full of work being done and money changing hands.

Here is the mind map that comes out of it:

Reading the mind map

• Transport. Pilgrims must be carried — trains, buses, boats at the ghat, ponies and palanquins on hill routes, porters and cart-pullers. Whole roads and railway lines exist because of the traffic.
• Places to stay. The tall river-front buildings in Fig. 8.8 are lodges and dharamshalas. At the Kumbh, an entire tented city is built and taken down again.
• Food and offerings. Flower sellers, garland makers, sweet shops, coconut and camphor sellers, cooks feeding thousands — the market in Fig. 8.17 is exactly this.
• Crafts and shops. Brassware, cloth, images, prayer beads, books and local specialities are made and sold; some crafts survive only because a shrine keeps demand alive.
• Services. Priests, panḍās and guides, barbers, boatmen, sweepers, security staff, photographers, and today hotel and tourism workers.
• Fairs and trade. A mela is also a market. Traders bring goods from far away, cattle and grain change hands, and — as the chapter says — pilgrimage routes and trade routes often overlap.