Welcome to the most populus city on earth, Welcome to the hottest tourist spot in the world, Welcome to the biggest congregation of Mankind, Welcome to the biggest gathering on earth, Welcome to the largest temporary settlement ever created in the history of earth, Welcome to the Oldest celebration on the earth, Welcome to the biggest celebration on Earth, I, a proud allahabadi take this oppurtunity to Welcome you all to Kumbh Mela 2001-a celebration of Mankind.
Kumbh Mela is a religious fair celebrated by hindus every 12 years at four cities in India namely Allahabad, hardwar, Nasik & Ujjain. These four cities are the places where garuna(the winged mount of Lord Vishnu) put the ’Amrit Kumbh(Pitcher of Divine Nector)’ down during his flight to Indralok.[full story is posted at the end] thus sanctifying these places. Allahabad(prayag) draws the most crowd as it is at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna & Mythical Saraswati which is considered the purest place on Earth .
Kumbh Mela-2001(spread across an area of 50 sq kms) is expected to attract 70 million vistors during a period of 42 days and on the main bathing day, Jan 24th an estimated 30 million people(thats twice the population of delhi) are expected to take dip at the sangam. Never before so many people have gathered on one place. The nearest was the previous Kumbh Mela in 1989 which attracted 15 million devotees.
That was a brief info on Kumbh Mela 2001 in case you didn’t read it before. So ’’Should I also go there?’’ you must be thinking. there can be many answers, to attain Moksh(salvation) after death by washing your sins off, to meet greatest hindu religious leaders in the world, just to company your grandpa or just to see how on earth do 30 million strong crowd look like? If Still you’re not impressed then I give you one reason. Kumbhnagar(kumbh mela area) is nothing but the true of India and a celebration of the true essence of Indianness.if ever you wanted to know what really India is then this is the place to be. Kumbh is the representation of the biggest treasure each Indian has however poor he might be.Treasure called Faith which drives millions whether on foot, bullockcarts, buses, Trains even aeroplanes to be a part of the largest celebration of earth. As Someone said ’’No advertisement, No invitation, yet such a big congregation. It is nothing short of a marvel and unbelievable till one is a part of it..’’ probably that’s why from a being an indian religious fare kumbh mela has developed into a world fair. Come to kumbh mela and you’ll also see another indian especiallity, Contradictions. Nowhere else in the world will you see a poor farmer (with less than 20 Rs. in his pocket to spend on his two day stay and to return home), a millionare from the richest country in the world(roaming around with his $20, 000 Digi-Cam), a student from Allahabad( who cycled 12 kms to reach there) & A german(who cycled all the way to allahabad from germany), a illetarate village woman & a Proffesor discussing there daily routines, foods of heir liking, gods they worship etc. with absolutely no hesitation (due to their social & mental level). This is one of the numerous instances you experiance daily in this oldest celebration of mankind. Here in kumbh you’ll see India a little rich but still poor, a little developed but still a lot more required, a little organized but still the confusion prevails, small pathches of glory but much larger patches of infamy, somethings to be proud of but some yet shameful, Knowlegde Rules but ignorance has still not gone, Some times an angelic experiance but can be as cruel as can get, sometimes the most beautiful place on earth but can be as hideous at times, the most peaceful place on earth but you’ll soon find yourself amidst gigantic gathering, a place of Faith but disbelief is also evident but still it manages to give an excellent outlook.
So I would again request you all to atleast spend a day in Kumbhnagar, not for religious sake, not for your grandfathers sake, not even for india’s sake but for yourself. Don’t miss this experiance of lifetime which cannot be accomplished anywhere else in the world. It wouldn’t cost you much though can be tiring.
It is impossible for anybody to write anything even a fraction as incredible as kumbh mela. It is unbelievable unless one is part of it. So Hoping to see you in the largest celebration of mankind.
The story of KUmbh Mela:--
As per Garuda Puran (I 240.26-28, Ramayana -III.35.27.34 and Mahabharata I-25.ff..) once upon a time sage Durvasa (spiritually enlightened sage) visited Amravati, the capital of Swarga (heaven). The sage in pleasant mood intended to see Lord Indra and on meeting him affectionately offered garland of ’ never wilting flowers’. Lord Indra took them in a casual way and passed the garland to Airawat (divine elephant) who in turn crushed the garland under its feet. Angered at Lord Indra’s arrogance, Sage Durvasa pronounced a curse on him, devoiding him of all the riches, virtues and power. Knowing this, demon king Bali attacked Lord Indra and snatched away all the riches and virtuous possessions. The gods were weakened and then Lord Vishnu (the preserver of the Universe) advised Lord Indra that to regain his lost powers and splendour he needed ambrosia or Amrita (divine nectar). To extract this from the depths of the ocean, the demons were motivated to churn the ocean along with the gods. Mighty mountain Mandarachal was used as churn staff, formidable serpent king Vasuki became the string to move the churn, Lord Vishnu in the guise of koorm (tortoise) gave support from the bottom and Lord Brahma (the creator of Universe) guided the churning from top.
With the churning, fourteen Ratnas (virtuous jewels) emerged from the ocean. These were Poison, Flying Horse, Magic Moon, Sky chariot, Vibrant Lyre, Rambha (the siren), Lakshmi (the paragaon of beauty and the provider of all riches), Vishwakarma (the divine architect), Dhanvantari (the divine healer), Gajaraj (the divine elephant), Kaustubh Mani , the divine conch shell, Varuni (the enchantress) and the coveted kumbh (pitcher) of Amrit (divine nectar).
With the emergence of amrit, there was scramble amongst the gods and demons for the possession of the divine elixir. Lord Vishnu handed over the kumbh(pitcher) of amrit to divine Garuda (the winged mount of Lord Vishnu). Garuda, who was to take the pitcher of nectar safely to heaven(Swarga ), was stopped on way at four places by the demons.These places are the present day Allahabad, Hardwar, Ujjain and Nashik, where Garuda had to put the pitcher down. Some of the nectar spilled at these places, sanctifying them forever. (As per Skand Puran, the story of taking away the pitcher by Jayanta, son of Lord Indra and the episode of spilling of nectar is mentioned, while other Purans - Vishnu, Brahamandu , Padma, Bhagwat , Agni, Mahabharat and Ramayana narrate the story of Garuda the winged mount of Lord Vishnu).
All along the flight, Garuda was guided by Lord Brihasapati (Jupiter), then transiting in the rashi (zodiac) Acquarius, Taurus and Leo. Sun and Saturn alongwith the Moon were on the vanguard in protecting the Amrit Kumbh (pitcher of divine nectar). The flight of Garuda lasted 12 days (12 human years). Therefore Kumbh is celebrated around every twelve years.
[Have to stop as I have reached the word limit-thanks for reading]