John Grove - Kumbh Mela

"...the largest number of human beings to ever assemble with a common purpose..."

- Guinness Book of Records 2001

The Kumbh Mela celebrates the legend that at the beginning of creation, all the Gods were under a curse that made them weak and cowardly.

Brahma, the creator God, advised them to retrieve the Kumbh (pot) containing the nectar of immortality (amrit). The gods sought help from the demons, and together they churned the ocean to bring up the nectar.

As Dhanwantari, the divine healer, appeared with the "Kumbh" containing nectar in his palms, a great fight ensued between the Gods and demons to wrest the pitcher.

During the fierce battle in the sky, a few drops of nectar fell in four different places, including Allahabad (Prayag).

all photos © John Grove

If you go to the Kumbh Mela near Allahabad (Prayag), you'd better be good with crowds!

Over the whole month it was estimated there were a total of 20 million visitors (7 million on the main bathing day (Mauni Amavasya - 24th of January 2001).

Located 250 kms away from Delhi, Allahabad was also the birth place of the first Prime Minister after independence - Jawaharlal Nehru.

The air is filled with the chiming of bells, incense and flower fragrance, the beating of drums on horses, camels, and elephants. There are countless processions of Sadhus (holy men, also known as Babas) from different Akhadas (orders) in their gold and silver chariots being pulled by devotees.

The whole site stretched some 10 miles along the banks of the river, spanned by a huge modern road bridge across the valley.

Most of the religious activities were to be found in the Ashrams (temples) and Akhadas.

Some of the bathers carried small containers, which they filled with water to take back to their homes.

Prayag Snan or bathing at the Sangam (the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical subterranean Saraswati) is of great importance.

The Kumbh festival has been celebrated since even before the second century BC. The first written evidence about it was scripted by the Chinese traveller Huen Tsang. His texts, dating back to the 7th century, mentions the presence there of the Buddhist and Jain monks as well as the Hindus.

The Kumbh Mela was also an important opportunity for holy men, gurus, Sadhus and saints to meet.

The local police were incredibly well organised - their British counterparts could learn a great deal from them in crowd control!

Apart from the narrower bridges, all the main thoroughfares were so much wider than at such an event in Europe. Despite the huge numbers, there were no problems during the whole event.

Lost & Found were kept busy though - on one day alone, they reunited 1,000 people with their families!

There were surprisingly few Westerners amongst the visitors.

The crowds were mostly ordinary people, many of whom had travelled for days in rickety old trailers and buses from villages all over India.

We met and talked to numerous people. Most, like the gentleman on the left, were self-confessed simple folk who'd travelled from tiny villages around the country.

The event is noted for the huge number of Hindu holy men it attracts. The naked Sadhus or nagas (as in the picture right) are of militant Hindu monastic orders, as are the Junos. They too had to take their turn to bathe, and it was in deciding who went first that the co-ordinators had their biggest headache!

Two of India's four Hindu high priests were carried to the river bank by their devotees, protected by giant red and gold parasols as pilgrims threw garlands of flowers at their cortege.

It was impossible to get away from the noise at any time - day or night. But it was possible to get away from people. This area - left - is near the landing stage for the numerous river boats. Teaming with bird life, you can see clearly the kind of place it will be when everyone's gone.

How was it for me? Well, as with everything in India, it's a very humbling experience. Whatever one's criticisms of the caste system might be - considering the size of this huge population, it seems to work.

Everyone appears to "know their place" and no matter what the underlying feeling must be among the poor, they appear to go about their way without any of the more typical western prejudices. Perhaps it's a western disease, or perhaps it's religious belief - but nowhere have I seen such harmony in a large society as in India.