ABSTRACT
Let us start with obvious facts. First, although often seen as an ‘age-old’ practice, Hindu pilgrimage has only become a mass movement fairly recently. Second, in the highly prolific study of Hindu religion the main focus of interest has been the temple or the village studies. Both of these facts are at least partly linked, since following pilgrims in their demanding and often dangerous journeys in the mid-twentieth century India required quite a reckless field researcher!
