THE MAHAKUMBH- LISTEN TO THE GEN Z'S POINT OF VIEW !!

 

This is such a  ‘sturdy and stylish bridge' !! For a moment, I thought , I was in some western nation, maybe the USA, where I had seen similar types of bridges in the movies, which are touted as modern and stylish!! 

But, of course, it was India !!. The Indian flag was flying high!, and the bridge was ‘The new Yamuna bridge’, an example of India’s ‘infrastructure capability’!!

It was around 6.00am in the morning, the sun was rising marking the day of 'Basant panchami'. The mighty yamuna was flowing to meet her sister(s) to create that ‘union’, symbolising 'sisterhood'!  

Well, we're happy that the rivers have feminine names, symbolising women empowerment, yet further it must be shown in the ground reality, isn't it ? This union, where taking a dip in itself is believed  to wash away sins, just remember how liberated it would be if the women were truly respected !

Nevertheless, the 'Saraswathi ghat' as it is called , on that day was buzzing with tourists to take a ride on the boat and reach the most revered and the “destination of the time”,The “triveni Sangam” of Yamuna, Ganga and Saraswati. It symbolises the name of the entire district, ‘prayagraj’!

 

Let me take you to the ‘backdrop’. What will a very inquisitive ‘gen z’, like me, do when there are a lot of talks on 'the Mahakumbh', especially which is happening after a very unique perfect square year( 144 years)? Of course!! Go and check !!

 Frankly for a youngster like me whose mind is more on the material things, and who looks for ‘science’ in everything, was more interested in how the administration is actually maintaining the crowd , the law and order, and the status of the mighty rivers! Having heard of  the new  “technologies of the fourth industrial revolution” being used with all the fancy names - “the underwater drone” to detect and alert in case of drowning, the “AI face recognition” to ease the work of lost and found, it rekindled my curiosity to visit the place! and not to forget the 'Naga sadhus and Aghoris', who are  the major centre of attraction  in the kumbh!

After ,surprisingly, getting a ticket in the 1AC tier in the ‘Shramjeevi express’ from Delhi to Prayagraj, we set off to the ‘talk of the nation' - Mahakumbh!! 

 

I used the word "surprisingly" because, what can we  expect when 30 to 40 lakh people visit the location daily? Of course, the national capital, Delhi, has a far higher percentage!! Tickets are like ‘high hanging fruits’ these days to prayagraj!

 

Coming back to the day of “Basant panchami”, which is one of the days where the ritualistic bath (Shahi snaan) is considered auspicious, we reached the ‘Saraswathi ghat' to take a boat ride to the ‘Triveni sangam area' !!

 

After a ‘failed bargaining’ with the boatmen who have almost “quadrupled” their prices, we set out for a boat ride to the centre of triveni Sangam, to take the 'must and should shahi snaan’ in the sangam'!

 The local economy of prayagraj has shot up more than ‘ten times’ because of the mahakumbh!, and that's most welcome! A Nation's economy grows as a result of the cumulative effect of the local economies. So, I was not hesitant to pay the quadrupled price to the boatmen!

The boat ride was one of its kind, the “rising sun” that felt as if it rose from the river waters of Yamuna, the cool breeze spreading the ‘welcome’ message, the chill morning , the flocks of ‘seagulls’, chattering incessantly as the visitors offered food to them, were a feast to the eyes!

It is true that the journey is much more interesting than the destination and that it really was! We were a group of eight people on the boat, all from different parts of India, who had come to witness the 'special mahakumbh' happening after  the perfect square year ! 

In this era of digitalization, a serious dilemma is whether to enjoy the ride by witnessing it in the ‘human eye’ or to capture the moment with the ‘camera’s eye’ ? Yet, I made sure not to miss both! My phone was barely surviving with 1% battery charge, as I had missed to recharge it. So, I had to juggle between capturing photos and switching it off! I had to preserve its energy to capture my 'shahi snaan moment'.

I am grateful to my ‘dear phone’ for being brave and sustaining its battery all along my ‘Shahi snan', and helping me capture my moments. Sometimes, a lot of ‘things’ become your best friends, along with people. Not to forget, one of the co-passengers also took my photos on my request and sent me via WhatsApp aiding me in preserving my memories !!

  After a peaceful ride traversing on river Yamuna, we reached the triveni Sangam. The sangam was filled with 'boats and people'. The rituals were in full swing! 'tarpan' to the sun, three dips, mantras, and photoshoots!

I got a very thoughtful question in my mind. Do we really attain that ‘’state of consciousness’’ to thank the rivers for their ‘life line role’, and  the divine for keeping us safe, when our mind, on the other hand, is yearning to capture the 'serene' moment on camera. That's a challenge of 'divided attention'!! Though technology has made our life easy, it has also made us 'dilemmatic, distractive and discombobulating'!!! Yet, Human mind is a miracle in itself. It can tackle things at once , if trained well. That is the reason for Mahakumbh. It is not just an 'ordinary' crowd of people, but a 'congregation of people with purpose!!'. Then, what is the purpose? 'yoga' - to unite the individual soul with the universal soul ! And of course!, as ‘patanjali’ describes 'yoga, is to cease the fluctuations in mind's! Now the question is ? Am I being philosophical? Not really….

Yet, the ‘ritualistic atmosphere’ in the triveni sangam certainly impacts one’s consciousness positively!!

After the refreshing bath, we set out again on the boat back to the ‘ghat’, from where we had to proceed to the ‘kumbh’ area to witness the other ‘wonders'! 

As we got hungry, there was no dearth for ‘food security’ in Prayagraj. Organisations, or even individuals, had volunteered to distribute ‘prasad’ at every footstep in the streets. They would happily come to us and offer plates of prasad as we walked through the streets. So, all along the way back, we had ‘prasad’ as  breakfast, so we set out to visit the other places in Prayagraj.

Museums are a “must visit” in any place. It showcases the history, glory, and culture of that place. Coming to Prayagraj, “Anand bhavan” and ‘Allahabad museum’ are a must watch!

I am a big ‘Museophile’!!, so certainly I wouldn't miss it.

But, make sure you are not in prayagraj on Mondays, as it follows the Delhi schedule of ‘ Holidays on Mondays’.

But, fortunately, I was in prayagraj on Monday.. so it was closed !! Why am I fortunate? Because , I saved two to three hours of my day, which could be spent to witness the ‘attractions of the time'- ‘the Mahakumbh’!!. I would have definitely spent many hours in the museum, walking through all the antiques and imagining myself in the era of glory and victory !. So, everything happens for good!. 

 

We headed to the ‘Mahakumbh’ area!! Four wheelers weren't allowed. People had to walk or take a bike ride to reach the sectors!

Prayagraj isn't like Delhi. As it is a ‘plain area’, it is not as cold as in Delhi. Also, the ‘sun blazes’ as the  afternoon approaches. So, It was quite tiring to walk along the flyover to reach the kumbh, so we decided to take a bike ride. As I had mentioned earlier, the prices have almost quadrupled. Just for  a ride of 2km, we had to spend Rs. 300 . Well, I am fine with it, as the economy flourishes only when ‘transactions’ take place, isn't it?

Finally, we arrived at the ‘sector 6’ of the ‘Kumbh area' that  had one of the major attractions , the ‘rudraksh shivlings’!, innovativeness using spirituality’!!

 As we walked along, we came across many ‘Akhadas’ which were conducting ‘satsangs’,’ pravachans’ and the loudspeakers were full on!! “Pilgrimages are not supposed to be undertaken when you get old, when most of your life is completed. It is a way to lead a very good life, so the sooner you come, the more you will learn the ‘art of living’!!”, I recall one of the speakers preaching. It actually answered my question, as I had asked myself many times, what if it is boring?,  is it ‘old school' type to go to prayagraj? So, I was happy to hear this!!

Coming to ‘Mahakumbh’ means that one has to be ready to walk ‘long distances’, and no worries there are a lot of ‘Anna daan’ organised for devotees to energize themselves.

 

The law and order was very well maintained! The police would guide the tourists to the places they wished to visit. I was very keen to witness the ‘digital mahakumbh’ in sector 3, but the police informed me that the way to reach there was closed. So, we proceeded towards ‘sector 20’, which housed the major attractions of the kumbh area.- the ‘naga sadhus and the Aghoris’!!

Every culture has their own ‘unique’ elements. Every human has their own passions and interests. There is no ‘one size fits all approach’. Things that interest me may not interest others. Things that I love to pursue, may not fancy others. The path of a human is chosen by their own minds. Likewise, the way ‘Aghoris or Naga Sadhus’ have decided to lead their lives is their own choice or with  the influence of something that they have believed in. They might seem ‘unusual’ to others based on their attire, their behaviour or lifestyle, but that defines them and their identity. It is their path to achieve something, probably that I don't understand or feel ‘esoteric’. So, as a viewer, I decided to  just witness their uniqueness and have a ‘light acquaintance’ on a platform like this !!  

In fact such uniqueness itself makes a culture stand apart, doesn't it?? 

Meeting these ‘Naga Sadhus and Aghoris' who are said to travel all the way from the Himalayas only during these days was a thrilling experience to me!! They would invite every passerby to take their blessings !! That was quite heart warming! Also, there is no harm in paying them a ‘token of respect’ when they have taken such a bold step to lead their life that is considered ‘offbeat’ from the society. In fact, there are very few people who can dare to look like a ‘black sheep’!!

 I , myself, am conscious of being rejected or considered ‘odd’ while making my choices , or personal decisions and rely on societal standards. So, hats off to these Sadhus who have boldly chosen their  own ‘divine path’ ! 

Witnessing the wonders along, we never realized it was already 5:00 pm in the evening. ‘The time had flown by’! 

So, we made our way back. We hadn't even covered 10% of the ‘Mahakumbh', as it was a vast congregation, true to its name!! Yet, I had catched the ‘essence’ of the place!

We had to catch the ‘Vande Bharat express’ to Varanasi. Yet, another , ‘intriguing’ place portraying India’s ‘uniqueness’! 

The sun was setting back into the horizon, I felt as if, this time, it was slipping into the ‘grounds of Mahakumbh’! 

As I was walking on the ‘pontoon bridges’, I got curious on how exactly these bridges worked. So, I quickly opened the “Google lens”, clicked the picture of the bridge I was on, and read about the ‘vacuum jetties’ that raise their levels as the river volume increases to avoid the submergence of the bridge!! That was really fascinating!! 

As the quote goes, “Curiosity is a trait of human beings!”, That is the reason I came to Mahakumbh, probably these ‘jetties’ were invented because of someone else’s curiosity, ‘the idea of ‘Mahakumbh' itself was probably started to quench a lot of curiosities, hence ‘curiosity’ has become a parent of invention, and innovations. though I don't want to consider it as a father of crimes. I want to be positive, especially after such a wonderful tour in ‘Mahakumbh'. 

In the nutshell, ‘Mahakumbh' from my point of view, was a platform to ‘boost local economy’, ‘preserve India’s rich culture', ‘display India’s power of spirituality blending with science!’, ‘ a treat to one’s curiosity’ and not to forget, ‘an opportunity to be proud of one's Indianness’!!! Well, the ‘subtle aspects’ are yet to be well understood by me. Pardon me for that..

Yours, being as curious as always!

© Nidhishree J S @ Nidhyana.....

How about writing my story ‘In the galis (streets) of Varanasi’.....

 

                

 

 

                   The team