Never in my wildest dreams had it occurred to me that I would visit Kumbh.
Ever.
I was attending a friend’s wedding and was caught off guard when Baba called up to inform that he was buying tickets and if I would like to join him. I said “yes” mostly because “I can always cancel later!” I thought.
The more I read about Kumbh the more anxious I grew.
Tent Stay. Open toilets. Crowd. Cold.
A part of me wanted to avert all the unnecessary hardships and stay inside my comfortable cocoon called “home”. But the other part grew curious to witness that celestial force that drives millions and millions of people around the world to wilfully undergo these difficulties.
After a hell lot of debates in my head I found myself boarding the train on the stipulated day.
The festivity greeted us at the Allahabad Station itself.
Fresh coat of paints. Repaired sidewalks. Microphones. Hoardings. Police. Army.
And People. Lots of them.
The Railway Station area was bustling with life.
Drivers, Bus Drivers, Roadside Vendors – all were busy making the most this congregation in this otherwise sleepy town.
We boarded an auto and made our way to the river bed.
Kumbh at first sight reminded me of looking down at the City of Mumbai from the plane window. Only here I was peeping out of an overcrowded auto. In front of me laid the riverbed of Ganges infested by settlement of tents. Like those in Mumbai slums. And I cringed inside. “This is going to be a looong journey.”I thought. “ May be I should not have come!”
We learned that we are lucky as it was two days before the Vasant Panchami Snan its less crowdy here now and hence our auto can go inside the mela premises. Otherwise we would have to carry our own luggage and walk to our rented tent.
After getting diverted a little the auto finally pulled in front of ‘Nirmal Ashram’.
The ashram looked serene. Tin Boundaries with a colourfully decorated main gate to stand itself out in the crowd of thousands of other religious organisations across India.
Even from the first look at it, one could figure out that the Ashram had been built to accommodate every sect of the society, in accordance with their riches that is! Open space right at the entrance with covered roof, hay strewn floor and one old squeaky khatiya was meant for any who would care to enter the gate and take rest or even sleep for the night. Then there were small, shabby tents on the right side for the low budgeted devotees.
And the main area, the ‘luxury tents’ were at the backside. Away from immediate hustles and bustles of the road and were made of colourful clothes and thick plastic sheets to dodge the chill. We had mattress on the hay covered floor along with sufficient number of Kambals and pillows. The Maharaj even showed some aesthetic sense by planting decorative lawn grasses around each tent.
I was particularly worried about the bathroom but it turned out to be clean though little inconvenient as there was no roof. Of course there was no high-rise nearby to be worried about but there was a rail bridge. The trick was to avoid the bathroom once you hear the whistle blow!
After the initial shock it was fun to stay like that though. Many times it reminded me of my childhood days when we would cover our dining table with mattresses or ma’s saree in order to make our own home and play inside! Talk about playing pretend at 27!
Slowly the mood settled in and we got into the groove.
A quick stroll around left us in awe!
The mela premise on the riverbed of Ganges felt like a Mayapuri straight out of fairy tales. The whole tent city was built from a scratch. Carefully planned, just like a real city. For administrative purposes the whole premise was divided into sectors, each sector having its own police station, fire brigade, pwd etc.
The sectors were in fact a cluster of makeshift housing complexes. Each complex belonging to particular religious sect, just like our ashram. They erected tents to accommodate their disciples as well as to offer on rent to common people.
There were govt provided free tents too.
The Sectors were separated by intersecting roads built of long metal plates to prevent vehicle wheels from getting stuck into riverbed sand. There were lampposts every 100 mtrs and each lamp post was numbered so as to serve as landmarks.
Barricades had been erected to divert and manage the crowd.
And oh the crowd!
You could just stand by the road all day yet never get tired of observing the crowd.
Yogis with weird hairdos.
Iskonites with buzzed head and a tilak on forehead, chanting on some matras or bhajans in heavily accented Sanskrit.
Dehatis from remote UP villages in a caravan like procession following their village Pradhans, tugging on each others dupatta to ensure they do not get lost.
Foreigners with curiosity in the eyes and mineral water bottles in hand.
Then there were those who had nothing to spend except faith. They just boarded the train. Without tickets. Landed in Allahabad riverside and secured a govt provided shade for the night and lived on bhandaras/ prasads distributed by the ashrams.
Vagabonds. Little children. Families. BMWs. Politicians. Pundits. Helicopters. Olds. Youngs. Males. Females.
It was indeed the most interesting mix of people on this planet.
According to the lunar calendar Vasant Panchami was supposed to set in late in the morning on the day before the stipulated day for the holy dip. To avoid overcrowding and stampede, The Authority was eager to divide the crowd in two days. So there was a provision of renting out boats and sailing to the exact Sangam point for the dip on the day before the main day snan. The facility was not available on the Main day.
We definitely were more than happy to learn that we could actually visit the Sangam Point and decided to take the advantage.
The riverbank was little away from our Ashram. And no transportation was available. But there was really no need for direction. The idea was to follow the crowd. And so we did. After about half an hour’s walk we reached the bank of Ganges.
And I don’t know how to describe the next.
Although I did my research on Internet and knew what to expect but the crowd I saw there came nothing close to my imagination! Who knew people could be so spectacular! World’s largest Congregation – the words now seemed to sink in. It was like left alone under the vast sky. The vastness would threaten you and soothe you at the same time. Suddenly you were aware of your miniscule self yet there was a strange connection with everyone else. I feared to get lost yet knew I wouldn’t be alone even then.
As we snaked our way down the crowd looking for ferry ghat I sensed a strange positivity in the air. Everyone gathered there for the holy dip had their own good on mind. May be for once in their lifetime they were not cursing, cribbing or bringing down somebody else. Everybody there together was looking forward to a better future. A better life.
I never believed in theory of Moksha that Baba advocated to pass his Kumbh visit as logical. The only reason I joined was I did not want to be left alone at home. Yet standing there at the riverbank of Ganges as a little part of much much bigger plain suddenly I felt at peace with myself. There was no longer any need for debates about right or wrong.
I surrendered and it was spontaneous.
Of course, then we hired a boat and went to the Sangam and took our holy dip. We marvelled at the cleanliness and the warmth of the water. We joked about ridiculousness of changing clothes right in the middle of the crowds. We bought bottles and filled those up with holy water. Distributed rice and money among beggers.
But who cared about the details?
By then I had already figured out what Maha- Kumbha was all about.
