A look from the western banks of the river, and one can make out huge structures, ostentatiously decorated with garish colours and thousands of lights. Welcome to the akharas , the abode of holy men, naga sadhus and other saints, situated on the eastern side of the river. Each akhara tries to outdo the other in terms of lighting and decoration. The gates are huge, like those of a castle, a fort or may be like the horns of a Viking. The bigger and the better akharas are littered with jeeps, cars, even Toyota Qualis.
Many vehicles have saffron curtains.
These are the vehicles in which the sadhus and their followers have come from as far as Gujarat and Bengal. Many sadhus can be spotted driving Marutis. Most akharas also have a temple, dedicated to the deity in which the sadhus believe. In some akharas , the temple is right in the middle, with a huge flat mast, covered in red cloth reaching out to the sky. The sadhus have been broadly divided into three groups, with each group having a number of akharas .