PRAYAGRAJ, INDIA, January 25, 2025 (The Hindu, by Ishita Mishra): On a cloudy day in January, millions of saffron-clad people stand on the banks of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. They wait patiently to immerse themselves in the icy waters. The pilgrims believe that taking a dip at the Sangam during the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh Mela (great festival of the sacred pitcher) will cleanse their souls of all negativity and help them attain moksha (freedom from the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth). The swarm of saints, sadhus, ash-smeared Nagas (a sect of Hindu ascetics), pilgrims, and tourists is so large that not even an inch of the ground is visible at the river bank. People enter and move out of the ghats from all directions, but in an orderly fashion. Pilgrims take turns to bathe.

While the Kumbh Mela is held every three years by rotation in four cities (Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik), the Maha Kumbh Mela is held once every 12 years. This year, until January 23, up to 100 million people had visited the Maha Kumbh Mela, which began on January 13. The government estimates that by February 26, the last day of the festival, 450 million people would have visited the Mela, making this among the largest religious events of the world. There are 41 bathing ghats connected by 30 pontoon bridges. Religious organizations have erected 160,000 tents. There are police stations, hospitals, lost-and-found centers, banks, and other institutions numbering 10,000 in this micro city. Thousands of security cameras and drones have been set up.

Much more on the Maha Kumbh Mela and its religious, social, economic, and political significance at source. This is a premium article available only to subscribers.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kumbh-mela-gods-gurus-and-glass-turtles/article69137195.ece

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