MahaKumbh

The wishlist

For a long time I had been hearing about MahaKumbh, the once in a lifetime event to take dip in the holy Triveni Sangam. I was vey excited and decided to dip into the experience ( pun intended) , not as much for the traditional Moksh part of it, rather for the experience of faith and divinity. The government of Uttar Pradesh, where the event of Kumbh happened, had the tagline- MahaKumbh- come experience faith and divinity. However my excitement was colored with trepidation as I was hearing about the overcrowding and an unfortunate event of a Stampede. These events made me cautious, yet undeterred on my mission to find this intriguing amalgamation . Along with a likeminded friend my journey got finalized.

The prep

The next step was to start the preparations. Tickets were pricey and difficult to come by, yet I tried and tried, till the booking was done. We both wanted to experience the pulse of this festival by being in and around the Sadhus and the regular people and therefore decided to keep our stay in a very simple tent. Here I would like to appreciate the State government for massive preparedness by providing basic amenities like toilets and stay in the best possible manner . We had functional washrooms and sinks with attached mirrors, soaps, shampoos etc. equipped with the basics for brushing and cleaning. The food was very hygienic and Satvik, the roads were clean. Despite the number of people present, no garbage was to be seen.

The travel

It was a very interesting place where we had to travel by transport modes like the motorbike and E rickshaw. Never having travelled by a bike in my life , I had some resistance initially. Thoughts of 'what if i fall or topple' were buzzing in my head, but when we had to travel 6-8 km per day on foot, we had no choice but to drop this resistance. Our journey back to airport along with our luggage was on a bike too. While the arrangements done were really massive, yet the presence of almost 10 crore people traveling to and from, at any point of time was causing 7-8 hours of delay in any 4 wheeler transport. We had already decided to carry just a backpack and one crossbody small bag as our luggage, so we took just two hours to reach the airport.

The experience

With a desire to visit saints and share their journey to sainthood, the first two days were spent mostly around Akharas. We met some Naga Sadhus, one of them had come from the banks of Narmada river. He shared his routine, gave us blessings, and we left with loads of good vibes. One word of caution - not all apples are good here. I met a few others who were regular Sadhus and they too shared their experience of Sadhna and how they left their families behind and have never gone back, as they are happy and blessed to live in God’s will.

Unfortunately by the second day of our trip, most of the Sadhus had left. There were none left in the Nirmohi, Niranjani, and few other Akharas as most Sadhus are here only till the third Shahi Snaan (Basant Panchmi in our case). Most of the time was spent walking and talking to other people and listening to their stories. There were people who had come from near, but many had come from far. The policemen, Motorbike riders, E-rickshaw riders most of them were from outside Prayagraj, yet all of them had gratitude and reverence to the almighty energy for bringing them here.

The third day was dedicated to dip in the Triveni Sangam in the wee hours of dawn. This too was a blissful experience. The water was not as cold as expected, and it was shallow. It was more of a craving that I had to fulfill, but by the end of it i was filled with a very profound sense of serenity in my heart. We dipped in the Mantras of a group of Pundits doing puja for ‘Vishwa Kalyan’ ( Good of the universe) , and it was time for us to leave.

The takeaway

The Kumbh is an experience that one must have at least once in one’s life. The real essence is to change, and go with the flow. I tried to mingle with the people whom we met there , walking with them , making friends with other people and staying non judgmental of the situation. During one such discussion someone summed it up beautifully " I might not be the person who likes crowd, but this kind of crowd of people with similar intentions, is something that I Don't mind". I had read these lines from Bhagwat Gita Ch. 15 verse 7 before starting my journey and kept them in my heart till end-

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।

Mamévānsho Jeevloke Jeevbhootah Sanatanah

Loosely translated as-All beings are part of me (God/ Energy) and all human beings are eternal.