Sights & Sounds of India- and beyond: January 2020

I had no plans of visiting the Allahabad Ardh Kumbh in 2019. I had a very satisfying trip in the Purna Kumbh there in 2013. However, destiny had other things in mind. Since January this year, the social media started buzzing with fascinating aerial shots of the expansive mela grounds, and the magical ambience therein. Eventually, when a school friend from Lucknow sent some photos and video of the mela and the lavish tent city coming up, I had to succumb. Choice was clear- if I go it has to be one of the grand Shahi Snan (royal bath of the saint communes) days. The two upcoming dates were Mauni Amabasya on February 4 and Basanta Panchami on February 10. I chose the Mauni Amavasya, also because I had visited the 2013 Kumbh on the same auspicious day. It seems the biggest congregation- 3 crore pilgrims out of the month’s total of 10 crore pilgrims had visited the Mela on that day of 2013. A scramble provided waitlisted train tickets. Air India was operating special flights from the newly built Bamrauli airport of Allahabad, and I booked my return on a direct Air India flight. From 2013 experience, I knew the railway station becomes a war zone of returning pilgrims on such heavy rush days. Last year, there was a stampede and an overbridge collapse on the day after Mauni Amavasya.

The next challenge was to decide on accommodation. From past experience, I know that the location of the accommodation can make or break the Mela experience. There is no good online or offline map of the mela area and the adjoining city area, which was a major hindrance in planning. Google Map is clueless about the details of this temporary mega city. In hindsight, I can advise travelers looking for hotels and booking blind to choose accommodation in Jhusi or Daraganj but never in Arail. A Bharat Sevashram doctor and Kumbh Mela enthusiast dug out a map published in local Hindi daily Amar Ujala’s online version- to my great surprise that was the most detailed and authentic map of the Mela which I could find. An A3 size printout of the map was a great resource in my hands when at the event. Unless there is local guidance, it is very difficult to decide what is a good area to stay that will not require miles of walk to be at the core mela area. This year, a new feature and lure of the mela is luxurious “tent city”, where 4,200 onsite tents have been set up on PPP basis, equipped with modern facilities. Until this year, only UP Tourism had luxury swiss tents on the mela ground. It is tempting to be there, but the costs are high for a solo traveler. The prices range from Rs. 3500 (per person, sharing)-Rs. 25,000 (per tent) per night. After reaching the mela, I visited the tent city location and found that that it is in Arail, which is a remote, cut off location on the other side of Yamuna with no easy access to the Sangam area. There are only two pontoon bridges of over 2 km length, separated by a distance of 1.5 km, connecting the tent city to the main area. On peak days, the bridges are one way and may even be closed for those wanting to reach the main sangam area. Someone in Google commented after the event, “The place is too far off from kumbh hub and needs to be avoided at all cost.” Based on the insight of Amar Ujala map, I booked myself one homestay in the Cheoki area within a kilometer of the mela sector 17 area. For redundancy, I booked another basic pilgrim’s accommodation at the Bharat Seveshram Sangha camp inside the mela premises in Sector 5 area. The two accommodations were almost at the two ends of the mela, separated by a walking distance of 6 km. One was offsite but had the comfort of 4 walls and good bathroom. Other was onsite, but had very basic living arrangement and bathroom facility. I split my stay between the locations, and walked a few times between the two. It helped me to have an immersive experience of a large swathe of the vast mela ground.

This is a good Segway to describe this year’s Kumbh Mela. The event is spread over an unprecedented 3,200 hectares around the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna- where the mythical subterranean river Saraswati is also believed to meet. This is the biggest ephemeral city of the world that is built to last for only 7 weeks. Some of the key features of the temporary city are as follows:

- 2,80,000 electricity connections to camps

- 40,700 LED light posts, 175 high mast lights

- 1.030 km of low tension electrical lines and 105 km of high tension electricity lines

- 125,000 chequered plates used for construction of 141 km of road; another 105 km of service road

- Total 35 sq km (3200 hectares) Mela area divided in to 20 Sectors

- Over 20,000 police personnel in 58 police outposts; 11,000 sanitary workers; 122,500 toilets; 11 hospitals and 35 health outposts; 2,100 medical and paramedical staff

- 1795 pontoons built and used to construct 22 temporary pontoon bridges over Ganga and Yamuna; the longest being 2.5 km.

- 150 km of drainage pipeline and another 850 km of drains. Ponding and bio-remediation treatment sites constructed

- 800 km of water pipeline, 200 water ATMs, 150 water tankers, 100 handpumps, 5000 stand posts to provide 24X7 water to the pilgrims

- 4200 premium tents set up on PPP basis for high end tourists and visitors; free public accommodation with 20,000 beds for general pilgrims

- It cost around Rs. 4,000 crores to build this temporary city to host the 55-day mega event

I arrived Allahabad by train on Saturday, February 2^nd, two days before Mauni Amavasya day, and first checked in to my homestay at Sangam Vihar, Havelia, Jhusi area. Mr. Chandrasekhar, who runs Oga BNB ((https://www.ogabnb.com/)- a local AirBNB type platform, was very helpful in answering my questions before and after the booking. When I arrived near the location, the homestay owner came and picked me up and took me to the house. It was a unique day to arrive- Modi government announced its last budget before 2019 General Elections, and Hindi newspapers were struggling to maintain front page coverage of both a significant budget and the mega event of Kumbh Mela.

It was an interesting accommodation- a private room on one side of the 1^st floor courtyard, smack in the middle of other rooms occupied by members of a large family. The children were playing in the courtyard and the ladies with “ghunghat” (traditional head cover) were running around doing household chores. The ladies take turn cooking the dinner for the octogenarian head of the family- after his meal is cooked, others enter the kitchen to cook for the full family. I was served a very nice simple dinner of roti dal sabzi for that night, for which I do not think they even charged me. The room was basic, in an inner alley, and the toilet, at the other end of the courtyard, was dedicated for me during my stay. They tried hard to make me happy, but I was straining at the leash to hit the mela ground and embarked upon the journey after a few hours of rest. The accommodation was near Pontoon Bridge 20 (Chakra Madhav Pipa Pul)- about a kilometer from Sector 16, which was a few kilometers from the Triveni Sangam and Akshyay Bat area- the core of the Mela. My host, very kindly, dropped me in his motorbike to my second accommodation at the other end of the Mela- The Bharat Sevashram Camp in Sector 5 near Pontoon Bridge number 5 (Harishchandra Pipa Pul). I staked my claim in the shared tent and reviewed the Camp facilities. I also queued up for the free lunch served for all the camp resident pilgrims. My co-boarders in the tent were a guy of my age from Kolkata and an elderly gentleman from Jamshedpur- both loyal Bharat Seveshram devotees. Me and my younger tent-mate went for an evening stroll- walked from there till Triveni Sangam and from there I walked back to my homestay accommodation. The walk was about 10 kilometers in 3 hours. My average walk in the next three days was between 12-15 km/day, to explore the nooks and corners of the 35 square kilometer Mela area.

Kumbh Mela in Allahabad is an incredibly huge affair. It is impossible to explore all of the 20 sectors even in 3-4 days time. For most of the travelers, this is not an issue because the prime purpose is to go to the Sangam, take the holy dip, do Satsang in the camp of their Guru and return to base. The challenge is for journalistic travelers like myself, the Timorous Travelers, who want to soak it all but does not really care about the dip at the right place and time. No public transport is allowed inside the mela premises. However, the ambience was sullied and polluted by the huge number of vehicles belonging to the hundreds of influential Akharas. This many number of vehicles, kicking up dust and pushing the pedestrians to the edge of walking streets was detrimental to the spirit of the event. But anyway, my tip for any traveler like me is to tone up your leg muscles before the event and get a good pair of walking shoes and an additional slipper for wet areas. Also be ready for tolerating dust and smog, that hangs heavy over the ground in the evenings. The Kumbh melas in Haridwar and Ujjain is different since those venues do not use this much of open ground. I have not been to the Nasik Mela yet.

I had a fantastic experience in my three days at the Kumbh 2019. I will talk a few important anecdotes, before making this a photo blog and let my pictures do the rest of the talking.

THE BATH FIASCO- On the second night, Bharat Sevasharam Sangh was to take all pilgrims to the Sangam for the holy dip in the river, when the Amavasya sets in. I usually do not get a chance to take a dip, as I travel solo and I do not have anyone to safely keep my belongings when I go to the river. Also since I am not personally religious, it does not matter a lot to me. This was one good opportunity for me to let go of myself in the milieu of faithful. The auspicious timing was on Feb 4 from 2 am onwards. The Ashram authorities told all of us to deposit all valuables with them and be ready at midnight. About 100 of us started at midnight with great fervor towards the Sangam- a 3 km walk from the Camp. Josh was high and procession was orderly as we snaked through the mela streets led by the Bharat Sevashram flag. However, as soon as we neared the vast open area of the Sangam, all hell broke loose. The crowd swelled, and soon we were confronted with a bigger rush of pilgrims coming out of the bath and heading back. The procession was in disarray. The ground was clayey and feet was sticking. Some went forward with the Maharaj carrying the flag. Me and my two tent-mates stuck together for a few hundred meters. But the surge of returning pilgrims broke us apart soon. My slipper got stuck in mud and I could not find it. Any more effort to look for it could have led to me coming under feet of pilgrims. I gave up and decided to return. I shouted out to my tent-mates that I am turning back. On way back, I found several other slippers, but all were of the same foot for which I had my own! In the cold winter night, at 2 am, I walked back barefoot over ice-cold iron plate for the 3 kms to my camp. In hindsight, Bharat Sevashram’s plan to beat the crowd by going early (2 hours ahead of the most auspicious time) backfired. Police’s crowd control system was not in place, and we ended up in a free for all. And Bharat Sevashram did not have enough of its own volunteers to ensure a smooth snan for its own devotees. My tent mates returned two hours after me, crestfallen. They managed to reach the water, but in the melee one lost his mobile and the other was physically exhausted. It would have been so much better if we went on our own in the morning. But again, hindsight is always wiser. Overall, Bharat Sevashram was a disappointment—both in terms of quality of accommodation and this mismanagement of the holy bath. However, the Sangh has long standing reputation in providing stellar service to pilgrims in all major religious congregations.

Bharat Sevashram Health Unit

The lock on our tent door

My tent mates

Getting ready to go to Sangam at midnight of Feb 3-4

On way to Sangam

Facing the crowd at Sangam

COLLATERAL GAIN- MEETING WITH POLITICAL PLAYER: After reaching back to my camp at 2:30 am, I let go of my tired body in the bench of a tea stall near our camp, ordered tea and lit a cigarette. From nowhere, came a man with flourishing turban, and started speaking with me about mela arrangements. The discussion quickly veered in to politics and was getting interesting. I kept encouraging him to speak with leading questions. He soon admitted that he is the spokesperson of Bharat Bikas Abhiyan Trust- part of Priyanka Gandhi’s team, and he is collecting feedback on behalf of Congress Party at the mela, and also doing some campaigning. Hearing his passion about the leadership of Ms. Gandhi and seeing his unwavering faith that her leadership will swing the upcoming national elections in favor of the Congress, I requested him to give his predictions in form of a recorded sound byte, to which he readily agreed. I do not have to explain that his smug conviction sounded utterly hilarious after the results of the election was announced a few months later. [Had to trim the interviews to meet the 100 MB size requirement of the blog site]

LESSON LEARNT: Never go to the VIP tent area in Arail between pontoon bridges 20-22 on the peak days. If you are staying there, come out early and stay in the Mela main land for the rest of the day. I walked in to that sector to explore the VIP camps and almost got stuck and would have lost many precious hours. Note that the pontoon bridges are made one-way on all peak days for better crowd management. So I walked in to the VIP tent sector via Pontoon bridge 20. The river is really wide here and the bridge is nearly 2 km long. Once I reached the other side, I realized I was stuck. The police has closed the return bridge 22 (which is a km away from bridge 20) and I am stuck in that sector which is cut off from all actions going on in the main Mela area on the big day. My heart sank. Police was strict and would not listen to any pleading from me and a few other desperate souls. I did not give up and hung around. Soon came a group of foreigners- the main inhabitants of this VIP tent area. They would not take no for an answer from the police, who was also more lenient on them. Finally, a senior ranking police officer decided to let them go. I was lurking around, and I was allowed to pass too. We quickly walked across the 2.2 km longest pontoon bridge 22 on the Yamuna built for Kumbh Mela and was delighted to land back in the bustle and din of the main mela arena.

Crossing to Arail to see VIP tents- walking in to a trap

VIP tents from a distance

Returning via 2.2 km Pontopon Bridge 22 over Yamuna- the longest

Because of these foreign guests, I also got permission to return to main Mela area

KINNAR AKHARA: Interesting dynamic unfolding about inclusion of Kinnars (transgenders) in the fold of Hinduism. Rishi Ajay Das, a Zoology graduate and transgender himself and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, transgender activist (fought for the rights of third gender in supreme court and other forums) had organized a huge kinnar sammellan in Ujjain to press for their rights to join Hinduism. They have formed the Kinnar Akhara and has been trying hard to get it recognized as the 14th clan of Hindu saint commune (traditionally there have been 13). In the Ujjain Kumbh Mela in 2016, the Kinnar Akhara was allowed a five acre plot for the first time despite opposition from the Akhara Parishad. In Allahabad Kumbh, the Juna Akhara invited the Kinnar Akhara to join the Shahi Snan (royal bath of the saint communes) for the first time. The Kinnar Akhara was a place of great interest. I walked a few kilometers to visit the place. It was vibrant and welcoming, spread over a big area. The kinnars were dancing in an enclosed arena and the Mahamandaleshwar was seated at the center of the arena. The place was abuzz with curious visitors. Someone was smearing the forehead of interested devotees with sandalwood paste and stamping Jai Shriram on it. I offered my forehead for the easy opportunity to display my affiliation. The long walk to visit the Akhara was worth it.

THE VIP BABAS: Alongside traditional saints, Kumbh Mela is experiencing an increase in the number of VIP Babas, who are pompous in their demeanor, lavish in the décor/amenities of their camps and conspicuous by the number of foreigner devotees. In Ujjain Kumbh, I saw Golden Baba decked up in 14 kg gold heading for the Shahi Snan. Thankfully, he was expelled by the Akhara Parishad for the 2019 Allahabad Kumbh. Reportedly he was also detained after creating a ruckus about it. In Ujjain, I also visited the air conditioned camp of Pilot Baba, who was seated surrounded by foreign devotees. Pilot Baba was reportedly Wing Commander in Indian Air Force and flew fighter planes in 1972, 1965 and 1971 wars. He met with an in-flight accident in 1996, after which he renounced material life and embraced saintliness. He teams up with Yogmata Keiko Aikawa. In Allahabad, Pilot Baba's camp was super lavish. It was teeming with foreign devotees, had a retinue of Volvo buses lined outside, and had a giant LED screen projecting the pearls of wisdom that Baba was distributing during his congregations. The other VIP Baba who never fails to attract attention through his personal charishma and the dazzle of his female devotees is Swami Nithyananda. I must admit, the ghee-soaked free halwa that I had at his camp in 2013 Allahabad Kumbh has also created a softness in my mind for him. However, the Kumbh administration denied him space in the 2019 event, in light of under-investigation rape case against him.

BEST EXPERIENCE: Watching the Shahi Snan procession of the various religious denominations. This is always my highlight of Kumbh, and I spare no effort to be at the right place at the right time. I went in to Nirmohi Akhara when they were returning, and watched several other saints and denominations go towards Sangam with their followers amid pomp and splendor. I went inside the Niranjani Akhara and witnessed the unbridled joy of the saints of the commune as they returned from a successful Shahi Snan (royal bath) on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amabasya.

RAM MANDIR: Clearly, building the long-pending Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, for which the saints and devotees have waged a century-long battle, was a looming theme in the Kumbh Mela. It occurred in the tea stall chats and hoardings and in the consultations of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad which coordinates the activities of the 13 major denominations of Hindu saints and ascetics. Worship of stones for building the temple were held in the camp of Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka Peeth.

I leave it to my photos to tell you the rest of the story of my travel. Many of these are about the MELA AMBIENCE. One of my passion at these events is to take photographs of FACES of the saints and devotees. Possibly I seek saintliness in the milieu of millions of so called saints. Did I find any? I will let you decide from some of the photos.