KUMBH – A LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE AND A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

If you have never been to a  Kumbh Mela (fair), you will never understand the gigantic dimensions of its area, population, diversity, management, logistics, religion and culture.  The event sees a massive gathering of devotees who come to the historic city of Prayagraj, erstwhile Allahabad from every nook and corner of the country often by overcoming the travails of a long journey. Not only do they come from India but the Indian diaspora from all over the world and inquisitive foreigners in plane full descend on this historic city to be a part of this life changing experience! Devotees throng to Sangam (the confluence of holy rivers - Ganga and Yamuna and Saraswati) to take part in mass ritual bathing with a belief that the holy waters will cleanse their sins and liberate them from the cycle of life and death.

Mythology:

The tale of the Kumbh Mela dates back to the time when the gods resided on earth. They had been weakened by the curse of sage Durvasa, and the demons were causing mayhem on earth. On Lord

One of the many dwars (gates) to the Kumbh city.

Brahma’s advice, they started churning out the nectar of immortality (Amrit) with the aid of the asuras or demons. However, when the ausras realized that the gods would not be sharing the nectar with them, they chased them for a period of 12 days. During the struggle to gain this pot full of Amrit, a fight ensued between gods and demons and drops of Amrit spilled near Prayag, Nashik-Triyambakeshwar, Haridwar, and Ujjain. The rivers situated in these areas are considered to be carrying the nectar that fell from the pot. The Kumbh Mela is held on the dates when the nectar is said to have fallen in the river. Each year, the dates are calculated depending upon a combination of Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon’s zodiac positions.

History:

Probably the first historical description of this great fair in Prayag was found in 643CE in the writings of Chinese Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang who had been in India. He wrote about the gathering of pilgrims in Prayag during the month of Magh as an ‘age-long festival’.

Cultural and spiritual Sangam:

UNESCO has already included Kumbh in the list of "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity". The Kumbh is a real treasure trove for people who seek more than the ordinary in their lives.

Kumbh Nagari

For people who are spiritual and seek liberation, there is no better place than the Kumbh. And for those who always wondered what is this liberation that so many people are after, this is a great place to be introduced to it.   Every denomination and sect of Hinduism and eastern thought is represented at the Kumbh. It is a one stop shop for learning about Hinduism, Eastern thought  and the science of Liberation – Moksha. Thus, in the Mystical plane, the highest possibility that is open for human beings happens at the time of the Kumbh. This is why all the Saints, Sadhus, Babas and religious leaders congregate at the Kumbh. Apart from the celestial event, the very presence of these saints adds to the energy of the Kumbh Mela.

We saw many Sadhus performing seemingly impossible tasks of endurance during their Tapas.  You can

Rituals galore on the holy bamks

meet one or more on every street corner. Sadhus who have stood on one leg for decades; those who can stay under water for hours; who can read your mind; pull trucks with their genitals; who stay buried in the sand upside down – for the whole duration of the Kumbh! And if you know where to look, and how to look, you can experience true miracles and spiritual powers – called as Siddhis – as opposed to feats of endurance or sleight of hand tricks that you are used to.  And maybe some of them may even initiate you in to these powers if you are lucky! I happened to meet and greet the aghori babas (hermits) who step out of their Himalayan caves only during this time!

Visitor from India and abroad have been coming to Sangam for the Kumbh since ages and for each one of them it has been a life changing experience! Jack Hebner in his book on the 1990 Kumbha Mela wrote “The very foundation of my conception of life, the reality in which I lived, was shaken at its root. I was forced by circumstances to find a new identity within myself and adopt a completely new value system. My western values were not enough to deal with the profoundity of the Kumbh Mela. What ensued was an unforgettable experience and a true understanding of the Kumbh Mela. I began to understand why millions of people attend the Kumbh Mela and I began to imbibe an inkling of their faith”. Nothing can sum up a Kumbh experience better than this.

The logistical scale:

This year’s Mela had a footfall of whopping 150 million over the 55 days of its course, The number is more than the populations of 222 countries individually- Germany (81,914,672), UK (65,788,574), France (64,720,690), South Africa (56,015,473) and Australia (24,125,848) among others (Source- UN List of

Shahi Snan on Makar Shankranti

Population). The number of people expected to attend is also more than the population of over 100 countries combined. The Mela has mainly the three traditional 'shahi snan' days which are especially auspicious days of bathing in the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers – Ganga, Yamina and the mythical Saraswati. The first is the Makar Sankranti, then Mauni Amavasya, and lastly Vasant Panchami. Besides, there are other spiritually auspicious bathing days - Paush Purnima, Magh Purnima, and Maha Shivratri. In each of these six bathing days 20 million devotees took the holy dip! Incidentally, that is the total population of Australia or Sri Lanka!

A whole city came up temporarily at Prayagraj spread across 2,500 hectares on the banks of the the Ganga and Yamuna. The huge Mela area had 250 km long roads and 22 pontoon bridges and, for the first time, the Mela area was brightened up by installing over 40,000 LED lights. The government installed more that 1,22,000 toilets ahead of the Kumbh Mela. The decision to spread the movement of 'Swachh Bharat' to the Kumbh Mela was natal as hygiene is all the more important due to such a huge gathering of people.

The state of the art technology:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used for the first time for crowd control by Indian Railway to tackle the massive rush of passengers to the holy city during the Kumbh Mela. IBM Intelligent Video Analytics were pressed into service at the stations and its adjoining areas. 

Special trains to Prayagraj for Kumbh

Not only were there hospitals, trauma centres and eye camps doing free cataract surgeries but the government deployed  'epidemic intelligence officers' who could coordinate with medical units to keep Kumb under strict disease surveillance and prevent outbreak of infectious and communicable diseases.  

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) tirelessly towards facilitating safe passenger movement for Kumbh Mela. It set up four floating terminals, one each at, Kilaghat, Sarasvati Ghat, Naini Bridge and Sujawan Ghat and deployed two vessels, CL Kasturba and SL Kamla, for pilgrim movement. Countless boats all furnished with safety kits and life jackets and with life guards watching the bathers from vantage points made this a very safe Kumbh.

A very useful App and a website was developed to help people find the lost belongings and loved ones in this deluge of humanity.  This app developed by UP Police could guide one to everything he/she may need - face trouble in hunting for hotels/lodges, routes to reach the bus stop and railway station and in finding their way on the mela ground. For complaints of missing children or lost phones or valuables, an FIR and report could be lodged in the control room using the app. The control room was linked to Kumbh police website. The website displayed information on lost and found articles and missing people. 

Accommodation:

A luxury tent

There was a place to stay for everyone. From dormitories to 5 star accommodation, everything was available in Kumbh nagari. Delhi-based Hitakri Productions and Creations set up one of the most luxurious tent cities at the Kumbh – ‘Indiraprastham – the City of Eternity’ – in public-private partnership mode with the Uttar Pradesh government. Set on the banks of river Ganga, a 900-sq feet suite in an expansive tent, comprising two bedrooms and a living room with upscale upholstery, was the most premium accommodation on offer at Indiraprastham at nearly Rs 35,000 a night. Other economical alternatives - cottage tents, including luxury and deluxe tents were available at Rs 16,000 and Rs 12,000 a night (plus taxes) respectively. The setting son would flood the tent with an amber hue which was simply divine!

A Lucknow-based firm, Lallooji and Sons, was offering budget accommodation at its ‘Kumbh Canvas’, with cottages in the range of Rs 2,500 a night and dormitories at just about Rs 1,000 per bed. And then there were the hotels all over the city of Prayagraj to suit every pocket. 

Gen next identified with Kumbh:

Taking a trip to the Kumbh was the new cool for India’s millennials this year. Generation X wanted to

absorb and post the offbeat culture of the Kumbh on social media, while exploring the local cuisine, art and craft of the holy city of Prayagraj. Online travel booking platforms note that 25-30% of the bookings to the Kumbh came from millennials this time especially photography enthusiasts and art lovers. Direct flight connectivity to Prayagraj from the metros and social media craze were factors. Youngsters are narrating their Kumbh journey on Instagram which includes clicking sadhus who are using heavy headgears and flashy sunglasses, to attract the crowd. Generation X and Z were travelling for cultural experience rather than spiritual tourism.

Overseas Visitors:

Over 40,000 overseas visitors visited the Kunbh this year, thanks to the special effort put in by the government in giving it bue publicity through its High Commissions and Embassies. Guided by the

Boat ride 

ancient Indian philosophy of (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam), which means "the world is one family”, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) took the initiative of inviting one foreign representative from each country of the world to witness the Kumbh. The delegates, from all walks of life, have been nominated by Indian Missions abroad and include senior politicians, social reformers, Yoga practitioners, academicians, artistes, senior bureaucrats, medical professionals etc. This initiative was aimed not only to apprise the foreign representatives about India’s rich cultural traditions but also to convey India’s message of universal brotherhood, peaceful co-existence and global unity to the world.

A bonus:

It is also for the first time in the last 450 years that the devotees who visited the Kumbh got an opportunity to pray at 'Akshay Vat' and 'Sarasvati Koop'. According to a legend, once the sage Markandeya asked Lord Narayana to show him a specimen of the divine power. Narayana flooded the entire world for a moment, during which only the Akshaya vat could be seen above the water level.  It is a banyan tree mentioned in Ramayana and Rama, Lakshmana and Sita are said to have rested beneath this tree.