KOCHI: Grandeur of a different kind and a solitude that looms over the crowd. The slow run of the Ganga embracing the Yamuna and the invisible Saraswathi at the confluence that is deemed holy. The grand fair held once every 12 years in such a setting invites hordes of different kinds of people. Among them are those from God’s Own land.
Arun A S, a mechanical engineer from Thiruvananthapuram, is put up in one of the 18 sectors in the Tent City at Prayagraj and plans to stay there for all the days till the last Shahi snan on February 26, the day Kumbh mela would end. He claims the event is an opportunity to showcase how spirituality runs deep into the psyche of everything material around us.
“There are different kinds of activities and I handle the Gyan Kumbh, showcasing our ancient scientific systems to display the connection of soul with matter. Several people from Kerals are coming for it, including vice-chancellors of universities too. ISRO former chairman S Somnath would also be there,” he says. Arun is enjoying the spiritual fervour clubbing work with sojourns to the Triveni Sangam, where he often treks to take dips during the chilly mornings with the backdrop at times occupied by the sadhus.
Renunciates, different kinds of them unseen otherwise to the world, are an attraction for Ajish A S, who works in the construction sector. “I will be visiting the Kumbhmela soon. About six people from across Kerala are coming with me. It’s a spiritual journey for us, to experience peace in a place where prayer and festivities join to form an ethereal atmosphere,” he says. Ajish’s friends also include teams from Russia and other countries, who are planning travels to Prayagraj to meet him.
Ashwin K, an architect based in Bangalore, is planning the Kumbh for other reasons. “I have heard about the Kumbh and the spiritual circuit of Varanasi and Ayodhya. I wanted to visit for a while and felt this would be a nice opportunity,” he claims.
However, some came to know of the Kumbh through reels and social media and wanted to feel it for the liberating experience. “It’s about exploration, also a culture unwinding. I want to know about this place. The whole world is talking about it,” says Krithika Radhakrishnan, who plans to visit in February.
For those already at the site, the environment is charged. “That is why minor flaws like lack of water in our tent or the 10 km walk till the Sangam for the holy dip in biting cold and jostling crowd seem like nothing. It’s fun. More than the destination, the path gets prominence here. Kumbh is a feeling. And I am so lucky to have felt it,” says Pallavi Viswanath, who feels the youngsters in Kerala are slowly grooving towards such festivities which may seem outwardly religious but are at its core, purely civilisational.
“There is also a lot of mysticism in the air and enigma about naga sadhus, aghoris and such cults. Kumbh is indeed the time for several such people to be here and discuss spirituality, philosophy and the relation between all these. It’s a different world. A world unique enough to be called surreal,” she says.
Travel firms from Kerala are also planning packages for Kumbh. But the number of those arranging it on their own with help from the spiritual groups such as the akharas in the north is increasing. “Kumbh fervour is spreading among Kerala youth particularly,” observes Vijay Menon, who is visiting Prayagraj with a team of eight on January 29.