Courtesy of Raksha Kumar Shakti.Why do millions of people, from entire Indian villages to urbane middle managers to foreign tourists, brave the crowds at the Kumbh Mela During this year’s 55-day pilgrimage, to Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, an estimated 100 million Hindus and others are expected to take a holy dip in the Ganges River to wash away their sins. India Ink interviewed some of them.
Shakti, 22, who described himself as “a student of religion,†was one among them. This is what he had to say.
Why did you come to the Kumbh Mela this year Is it your first time
This is my first time, and the experience has been inexplicable. I came here as a part of my ashra, to feel the energy in this place. Kumbh is super charged.
How have you found it so far
I live in the Himalayas and have spent several months bathing in the Ganges, but this is something special. Can’t express it in words. But there is something special about the sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga and Yamuna, at Allahabad.
Describe your journey to the Kumbh. Did you travel alone How long did it take
We came walking for very long periods, from Varanasi, then we took all types of transport. Beyond a point one stops caring about inconsequential details like how to travel.
Do you consider yourself a religious person
Religion is something internal. When you see an internal transformation, that is when you know that you have become a religious person. Two years ago, when! I came to India, if someone had asked me to drink water from the Ganga, I wouldn’t have. I could have seen that it is really polluted. Today, I can easily drink it because of the faith in me. I know my God will never abandon me, and several Western scientists have come forward and certified that the waters of the Holy Ganges are pure, magical.
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