With the first of the sacred bathing dates of this year’s Kumbh Mela having started on January 14, The Goan recounts a journey to Prayag
“There’s something special about this water. The deeper Igo, the more divine I feel.” So says the headline for an advertisement issuedby Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, which provides a listof the significant bathing dates for the Kumbh Mela that will start from thismonth at Prayag in Allahabad. That might have been true for the millions offaithful devotees chanting their way to the banks of the river. As a touristhowever the perspective differs greatly.
So how was it to see the mela from up close and front? Whatcome to the mind are crowded images of people, people and more people. Lee andI reached Prayag a day before the first of the significant bathing dates. Afterfinding a seedy lodge to stay in, which gave out a curious olfactory mix ofincense and opium, we somehow managed to snake our way to the river’s edge withLee being followed by a group of urchins demanding donations of all kinds. Wewanted to talk but there was no way we could do so what with loudspeakersblaring all kinds of bhajans and chants from every nook and corner. Down thestreet were vendors selling a variety of wares – from conches to prayer beadsto golden jalebis to mosquito repellant mats.
Having done a quick reconnaissance of the place, we returnedto our rooms for a dinner of puri and chhole. It was the next day that we wereall keyed up about. And you really have to see the huge mass of people on thesacred bathing date to know what a population explosion means. To cover adistance of a mere 100 metres or so, we shuffled along for more than two hourswith Lee using his own head as a tripod for the video camera. Alongside was asadhu wearing nothing but a flimsy loin cloth. To get a conversation going andto get Lee his interviews, I asked the sadhu what meaning the Kumbh Mela heldfor him.
“Kumbh means a pitcher and just as a pitcher is used to fillwater to wash away the dirt, the Kumbh Mela is for cleaning up our soul.According to the scriptures, the mouth of the pitcher symbolizes the presenceof Vishnu, its neck that of Rudra, the base of Brahma, all goddesses in thecenter and the entire oceans in the interior, thus encompassing all the fourVedas,” he explained. “It’s like a beautiful painting with intricate layers init signifying the various philosophies of life,” he said. The sadhu nodded. “Avisit to the Kumbh Mela and a dip into the Ganga is the ultimate ambition ofevery Hindu,” he said.
The next day’s local newspapers reported that approximately10 million people had bathed in the Ganga on that day. There was also a reportsaying that five people had died in a stampede after clashes between holy menand devotees. At the end of it all, what did the Kumbh Mela do? It definedhumility. And proved the fact that faith can certainly move mountains.
