A Pilgrimage in India 
Where tourism is economically unthinkable, 
the pilgrimage may serve a similar function 
by Colin Turnbull 
While the concept of the tourist as 
a pilgrim who is searching for more 
than mere escape might be easy to 
accept, the notion that tourism and 
pilgrimage bear more than a super- 
ficial resemblance to each other is not. 
Yet observing American tourists in 
Europe and the Middle East, I per- 
ceive a conscious desire to identify 
with historical and spiritual roots. 
There is a moment of fleeting rec- 
ognition when the tourist says, “Yes, 
this is who I am, this is where I came 
from, this is where I really belong.” 
A sense of belonging, to a religious 
or spiritual heritage rather than a cul- 
tural one, is surely the reward of the 
true pilgrim. So perhaps we have to 
think in terms of alternative categor- 
ies of quest, sacred or secular, rather 
than in terms of alternative institu- 
tions. 
Still, so fixed is the equation of 
tourism with escape and holiday- 
making that we are reluctant to con- 
sider it in the same light as the pil- 
grimage. Yet if we are to understand 
tourism, we must at least examine the 
possibility that it is a latter-day form 
of pilgrimage. We tend to think of 
tourism as a contemporary phenom- 
enon because only since the introduc- 
tion of jet aircraft have distant parts 
of the world become accessible within 
the short time span of the annual va- 
cation, and only recently has the com- 
bination of relative affluence and the 
credit-card system enabled any but 
the wealthy to afford extensive travel. 
But this is not so. 
For centuries there has been con- 
siderable population movement (with 
many of the same political, economic, 
and domestic consequences as tour- 
ism) in the form of the pilgrimage. 
Further, the pilgrimage has generally 
been available to the poor, as well 
as the rich; to the unemployed, time 
is of no concern, and others have re- 
ceived some consideration because of 
the deserving nature of the enterprise, 
which frequently entailed hardship, 
danger, and some sacrifice. But as 
Chaucer has recounted, the pilgrim- 
age was by no means all hardship nor 
was it without its profane movements 
and earthly delights. 
We can see the pilgrimage in all 
its vitality at work in India today, 
where for the masses tourism is eco- 
nomically unthinkable. And we can 
immediately see undeniable similar- 
ities between the two institutions. Like 
tourist resorts, sacred shrines quickly 
acquire both economic and political 
significance. A tiny village or a soli- 
tary dwelling can grow into a sizable 
town once attention is drawn to it. 
To support a sizable body of itinerant 
pilgrims such growth is required, even 
though it may not be to the liking 
of the local residents. There are bene- 
fits and disadvantages to be had, so 
pilgrims are received with mixed feel- 
ings; like tourists, they are both wel- 
comed and exploited. Pilgrimage in 
India, like tourism in the West, is 
the major cause of population move- 
ment. All classes are affected, all 
castes, and although the pilgrimage 
used to be largely restricted to the 
elderly, it is now increasingly popular 
among the young. As a social insti- 
tution it allows for a temporary break- 
down of otherwise inviolable barriers; 
to some extent it replaces old values 
with new ones that make a temporary 
rapprochement possible between oth- 
erwise socially segregated individuals 
and groups. Economic and political 
horizons are enlarged. For the 
wealthy, the pilgrimage functions 
somewhat like a tax write-off, except 
that the perceived reward for endow- 
ing pilgrim rest houses, or dharma- 
shala, is more spiritual than economic. 
Such endowments make it possible for 
the poorest to travel: for some it is 
an escape from poverty or unemploy- 
ment; for others, an escape from the 
confines of caste and community. 
Until the very recent advent of the 
transistor radio, the pilgrimage was 
the only way that widely different seg- 
ments of the Indian population could 
come to know each other, and that 
individuals, otherwise isolated for 
whole lifetimes in local communities, 
could get some kind of comprehension 
of the diversity and magnitude of their 
country. But in addition to serving 
very specific economic and political 
functions, the pilgrimage also allows 
for the fulfillment of personal goals, 
both secular and sacred. There are 
different kinds of pilgrimage, each of- 
fering different attractions, and choos- 
ing one is much like choosing where 
to go on vacation; you have to decide 
which of your needs most deserve ful- 
fillment. 
In any one community, for instance, 
there are usually a number of shrines 
that help bind the community to- 
gether, and a visit to one or more of 
these is as much a social as a religious 
event. But farther afield there are pil- 
grimages to be undertaken that can 
last from a week to a year, and there 
are several major kinds of shrines to 
choose from, involving primarily ei- 
ther sacred places or sacred people. 
Places may be divided into two kinds, 
natural and man-made. Almost any 
natural wonder is likely to become 
a shrine, be it a mountain, river, cave, 
waterfall, hot spring, or even an odd- 
looking rocky outcrop. Such places be- 
come sanctified in myth and may even 
win scriptural mention, but it is more 
the simple attraction of nature and 
the desire to be part of something 
much vaster, more powerful, and more 
enduring that draw pilgrims to these 
places. 
At some of these natural shrines 
great temples arise, such as Tiruvan- 
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