AHMEDABAD, FEB 7: Holy men are supposed to renounce material comforts. At least, concerning the food they eat. Tell that to the 6,300 sadhus who have converged here for the Dharm Sansad. They've been provided telephones and fax machines, and that's just for starters. The main course includes all kinds of delicacies, local and from outside, to make everyone - from regions as diverse as Assam, Arunanchal Pradesh, Kashmir and Indonesia - as comfortable as possible.So, those from the southern part of India will not miss their traditional breakfast: rasam, uttapam, vada and idli, VHP joint secretary Dr Kaushik Mehta told The Indian Express. And those who wish to be gastronomically adventurous, can try the Gujarati sweetmeat fada-lapsi and the local savoury bataka paun.And though sadhus are known to favour fruit and milk, the hosts are taking no chances. On the lunch menu are puris, chapatis, rice and soups. By dinner time, though, their spartanhabits catch up with them: The only item on the menu is milk.``Sadhus like milk so much, that on Friday, even the 6,000 litres of milk fell far short of their actual need and an extra supply of 4,000 litres was immediately requisitioned to supplement the shortage,'' Mehta says. Similarly, he states that a truck-load of fruits proved to be insufficient for the saints. ``They also like eating ginger to avoid the problem of indigestion,'' he adds.The boarding arrangements have been made either by different temple committees or by members of the builders's community. While a majority of the saints are staying in Parasvanath township at Naroda, as many as 1,500 saints from Uttar Pradesh are putting up at the Muktajivan Swami Narain temple.Security is never going to be a problem here: The Bajrang Dal is on hand with 8,500 activists drawn from different areas of Gujarat like Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Surat, Kheda and Rajkot. All this, for Rs 45 lakhs.
