Mahakumbh – Day 1

Maha Kumbh 2025

Tomorrow I will try and see the sadhus and babas.

Today I went out to mingle with ordinary people.

Ordinary folk who have traveled from far and wide to be at this location Prayagraj that is at the centre of the Samudra Manthan legend at the time when Jupiter will align with Saturn, the Sun and the Moon in a way that happens only once in 144 years.

This mahakumbh will not happen again for anyone alive today.

The number of people attracted to this event in pursuit of MOKSH, is staggering.

Did you see the lady bent over? She doesn’t seem to care about her fragility – she seems to be full of spirit to reach her destination.

Did you see the wheelchair in the crowd at the bank of the river? Unstoppable!

Everyone’s there to take a immersive dip in the river – so what if the temperature is 10 degrees Centigrade

What shocked me is that none of the people there had made stay arrangements yet. By evening they will figure out a spot – a community tent most likely – and find food as needed.

Plenty of old people with knee problems walking on with their belongings on their head.

Plenty of families with children under the age of 8.

No one seems stressed. No one seems too preoccupied with the question of “what will happen if …”

They are just carrying on

I don’t see city people here. I don’t see any corporate-executive type people here. Besides the huge army of helpful police there seem to be no professionals here. I see mainly rural people – most from the Hindi or near-Hindi speaking belt. This is a very very different India from the one in Mumbai and definitely a universe away from the Indians living in Singapore or elsewhere.

Here I see that the large extended families are all bonded across age-groups. I see everyone talking to each other across age groups. No one’s isolated or left out. Everyone’s looked after. Everyone’s sharing their chana and chai with each other. Everyone’s occupied with each other and not their phones. Everyone’s figuring out life in consultation with each other. Talking is the
main medium through which life is being conducted.

These are the wealthy of India. Not financially – but relationshipwise they are the wealthiest.

It is a mystery to me how they are all comfortable with uncertainity about where they will lay their pillow tonight

But maybe, all that they need to know is that they are all together. And they know that that’s all that matters.

The maha kumbh is refreshing for me….