Mahakumbh is creating waves in India and abroad. Hindu devotees having connections to various branches of Sanatana thought, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shaakta, those who follow the tenets of a particular Guru or Ashram and those who follow no one….all are converging in Prayagraj, so aptly called Teetharaj or the king of pilgrimages in our scriptures.
The primary aim of every person joining this sea of humanity is to take a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the not-visible-but very-much-there Saraswati.

Though grossly inadequate, the only analogy that comes to mind while describing the Mahakumbh is the oft quoted story of the Elephant and the six blind men.

Is the Mahakumbh the biggest human congregation on the planet? It is.

Is the Mahakumbh a melting pot where saints, philosophers, connoisseurs of all schools of thought of Hinduism converge to debate and discuss their contradictions and commonalities? It is.
Is the Mahakumbh the biggest occasion for local traders, artisans, performers and producers of goods to showcase their talent and products to an audience and customer base that is not humanly possible otherwise? It is.

Is it an unending source of news or ‘content’ (as it is known today) for the mass media? It is.

Is it a photographers/ videographers’ delight and an endless source of ‘characters’ to story tellers and writers? It is.

Is it Bharat pulsating with its unity and diversity at every step? It is.

The Mahakumbh is all of these and a lot, lot more. It is beyond the realm of words to describe what the Kumbh stands for.

For the media, the Mahakumbh is an occasion to capture glimpses of Naga Sadhus, saints and ascetics who are Digamber (sky-clad) and are rarely seen in society except during Kumbh Melas. While the Naga Sadhu parampara (tradition) tells us how far saints and ascetics have gone to become warriors for Dharma, it would be a travesty to focus only on Naga Sadhus in the Kumbh. Likewise with the Akharas and Ashrams.

Today, the Mahakumbh stands as a collage of India’s soft power. It is exotic but also progressive. It has modern tents and yagyashalas with state of the art facilities where the enlightened are debating the Shastras and deliberating on the challenges ahead for Hinduism. It has philanthropists pumping in crores for charity while small time traders go for a killing by showcasing their goods to a customer base they could never have imagined.

For those who care to look, it shows why Sanatana continues to be what the term stands for….FOREVER!

It shows why India is and will remain proud of its roots.

Bhakti and Brand

Now let us take a look at some statistics. By a conservative estimate, the Mahakumbh is expected to generate a business of at least two lakh crores. A columnist termed it as the ultimate confluence of Brand and Bhakti. Actually it should have been Bhakti and Brand because it is the spiritual that motivates one to proceed to the Mahakumbh but once you are there you need your daily necessaries and a little more.

Infrastructure/ Tertiary Growth :

It is naive to think that 40 crores (400 million) people could be accommodated from all far corners of India and the world without a massive infra boost to support it. This columnist is an eye witness to the removal of encroachments and widening of roads undertaken three years ago to prepare the holy city of Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh.
Very small issues which often escape the eye like introduction of battery operated three wheelers, developing multiple railway stations to spread the passenger load, encouraging locals to make home stays and a highway connectivity with all parts of Uttar Pradesh had been undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh government in the run up to the ultimate event.

Tourism cannot be divorced from Adhyatma :

One cannot segregate tourism from Teertha in this country. From time immemorial, Indians have combined their wanderlust with the thirst for spiritual. Is it not a fact that an ordinary Indian family always enquires about the famous local temple the moment it comes out of a railway station or the airport? From Kamakhya in Guwahati to Rameshwaram in the South, vacations and pilgrimages have always been one ‘package’ for the average Indian.

Back to Basics:

The Mahakumbh could have been left to its own devices much like the previous years. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is firm on his belief that Bharat’s spiritual moorings are not to be ashamed of. They are the bedrock of our culture and civilisational strength. India cannot progress if it is divorced or segregated from its spiritual moorings.

That is why the Mahakumbh is NOT a spectacle as the BBC prod have us believe.

It is the spiritual foundation on which centuries of Sanatana traditions have evolved and flourished to give mankind the direction for a more enlightened outlook towards life.

The Mahakumbh is Bharat displayed in all its entirety within a span of 4000 hectares. It’s where humanity resides and the Gods descend to share the bliss.

(Smita Mishra is Consulting Editor with Prasar Bharati)