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INDIA, June 6, 2004: A Hindu holy man known as Ludkan Baba, or Rolling Baba, is rolling his way to Lahore, Pakistan, on a mission of peace, Nick Meo reports in The Times. In 1983 the holy man Mohan Das decided to make his pilgrimages more of a challenge by rolling along the ground instead of walking. Since then he says he has rolled more than 20,000 miles across India to spread his message of love and peace. Before he started rolling, he had spent seven years standing up, leaning against a swing to sleep. Rolling is much more fun and has put him in the Guinness Book of Records, he says. He set off on his latest adventure in January, inspired by the peacemaking efforts of Atal Behari Vajpayee, the former Indian prime minister. He is currently rolling between Agra and New Delhi, still some 500 miles from Lahore. A smiling devotee with a red banner is the only warning to the traffic thundering down on Rolling Baba at 70mph. He also trusts Kali will find a way round his lack of a visa or a passport. “The Goddess will provide,” he said. “Or the government will help us.” He hopes to convey personally a message of peace to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.



“My followers are from all religions and castes,” Rolling Baba said with a gesture at the 30 men and women of all ages camped out with him in the grounds of a roadside temple south of Delhi. Soon after dawn, Rolling Baba set off in a shower of flower petals cast by his devotees, before the heat builds up to the 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) afternoon maximum. His biggest problem then is melting tarmac. He is only 5 feet tall but is fit and looks much younger than his 55 years. Heavy bandages on his legs and sweat bands on his elbows give some protection from the rigors of flailing along at a fast walking pace that leaves some of his older devotees puffing to keep up on foot. “When he gets into top gear he can go 18 miles a day,” said Bhuvan Eshwari, a former newspaper reporter who renounced the world to follow Rolling Baba and now acts as his public relations man.

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