Mahakumbh
trip, Varanasi and Prayagraj Jan 23-26th,
2025
We left on 23rd
and reached Varanasi and checked in to the Hotel Pearl Courtyard which was 100
m from the Kashi Viswanath temple. On the flight I told myself to go with the
flow, whatever happens is meant to be, to not talk too much, to experience and
not to do check box sightseeing. We had booked a Sugam darshan online at 3pm.
Left the hotel at 245 ate a dosa at a corner shop and started towards gate No.
4 which was 100 m away. The road was absolutely packed with crowds thronging.
On top of that bikes and vehicles were allowed on the road which made it even
more difficult. A sea of humanity which gets pushed to the side every time a
vehicle tried to pass. Made it to gate No. 4 and got inside the temple. Inside
was well organized and quieter. We stood in the queue for an hour and had a 2
sec view of the lingam – I almost missed it. Felt blessed that the priest threw
a garland which fell around my neck. We came out and meditated for a few
minutes and then went towards Visalakshi temple. The road was narrow with shops
on either side and quite dirty. There were inscriptions in tamil on the walls
of the temple connecting the trio – Kanchi Kamakshi, Kasi Visalakshi, and
Madurai Meenakshi. Getting out was a nightmare as there were crowds from all
the roads trying to go in different directions. Made it out somehow and reached
back the hotel at 6pm.
We sampled street food – the famous Malaiyo (available only 2 months of the year), Rabdi malai, samosa, tamatar chaat and spinach chaat. Cannot leave Varanasi without the famous Benarasi sarees – so bought some sarees and dresses in the opposite silk house
The famous Malaiyo Hot Samosas Malai Rabdi
Strangely all this eating didn’t cause any problems to my stomach. Overall Varanasi streets are quite dirty and disorganized. The sounds, sights and smells are an assault on your senses. And can really bewilder you if you are not used to this.
Morning we left
at 630 am - First mistake of leaving so late at 630 am. Stopped at Shakti
Bhandar for breakfast which was the second mistake. Lot of traffic as we
reached closer. People were walking from 15 kms before because buses were not
allowed. However the vehicles were going in a disciplined manner – no honking,
keeping to lanes with walkers on one side, bikes next and then the cars. People
were walking this 15 kms in the hot sun, carrying their luggage and children
while we were cribbing inside an AC car that it was taking so long to reach !
Some views
closer to Prayagraj
We finally
reached the Arail ghat point but the police were not allowing us through
without a pass which we didn’t have. We resigned to walking the 4 km to Mohanji
village but managed to get an auto to take us there. On the way saw the boats
in the Ganges river going towards Sangam and somehow my heart felt full and
excited.
Reached there
at 2.30 and the first thing I see on walking is Shirdi Saibaba statue and
hanuman and ganesha and lingam statue.
Felt happy as I pray to Saibaba and Anjaneya daily. A good sign ?
Saibaba temple
at Mohanji Village Ramesh, me and Jayanthi
After a simple but wholesome lunch of chapathi, dhal,
cabbage sabji and rice we dumped our luggage in the tent. The tents with
attached bathrooms were decent. We left at 4pm to explore. There are multiple
pontoon bridges that you cross to get to the other side. We were near the 26th
one. We walked a lot taking in the sounds and reached a place where the evening
aarthi was being done. Watched that and headed to lete hanuman temple but saw
the huge queues there and decided to skip. Walked back and ended up doing 15
kms walking ! Very tiring and a lot of dust.
Night view from the opposite side of the Ganges Sunset on the Ganges
Amazing the number of people there at Kumbh, the number of tents, the number of spiritual campuses – this is the largest spiritual festival / gathering in the world. What drives people to withstand such harsh conditions to come here to take a dip – what faith drives these people. People are walking 15 to 20 km carrying bags, children, old people to reach this place. Staying in not so great conditions living on annadanam and vying to take a dip in the Holy Ganga.
On 25th woke up at 530, had a bath,
attended the morning aarti and then the vishnu sahasranamam chanting and the
rudram chanting. Meditated for some time and then had breakfast of idli chutney
sambar which was excellent. I started to feel that we should go to Triveni
Sangam earlier than later. We had told the boatman 3pm but called him to say we
are coming earlier and left at 1 for the Sangam. Walked about 4 km of which we
were lucky to get an auto for a km. Arail ghat was a huge crowd and we took
some time to find the boat man.
Arail Ghat
The Ganges and Yamuna joining point
We could clearly see the Ganga and Yamuna joining
points as one was green in colour and the other was brown in colour. The govt
had organized floating platforms with changing rooms. Our boatman manouevered the boat close as
possible, almost back to back with other boats. The only words I can use is
“organized chaos”. We jumped on each of the boats and reached the platform. Lot
of people milling around getting into the water and changing. We left our bags
and walked into the water through the platform on other side. Water was quite
shallow and we walked about 100 ms before it came till knee level.
Water was very cold and it took me some time to splash
it on myself and then put my head in. Managed 3 dips, one for myself and family,
one for ancestors and one for the gurus. I was wondering how people were able
to get into the water when it was so cold. Faith pushes them I think.
Jayanthi and me taking a dip in the Sangam
We walked back and changed in the changing room and came back to the boat very refreshed. Back to the shore by which time hair had dried nicely and then took 1 hour to walk back to Mohanji village.
Since we had
had no lunch had nice hot tea with Chole Bhatura, vada and pesarattu. Felt
really satisfied and happy. Went for the satsang where I sang two songs Later
we met a person from Malaysia and ended up chatting with him for more than an
hour. Jayanthi’s Acharya said that this place which is after the Sangam and in
the land of Someshwar temple was more powerful than the actual sangam and it is
good to take dips here.
Left early in the morning for the airport dropping off Jayanthi on the way. We could not see any of the temples or the Akhadas but were very happy that we got to do the Sangam dip comfortably which was the main thing.
My thoughts
As I reflect on this largest gathering ever on earth of 400 million people over 40 days, I am amazed at the faith of the people in spirituality and Gods and feel happy that we are still connected to our culture as a nation. Overall the place I felt was vibrant and pulsating with energy. It felt lovely to be in the company of people all aligned to a single purpose, trying to draw upon the possibility of spiritual upliftment. this is what they call "Satsang" I suppose. If I had known earlier I would have come here to stay for a week and imbibe and immerse more. But at least I got to do this much.
Lets look at the enormity of the event and the amazing organization behind the scenes.
- The Mahakumbh in Prayagraj is a MasterClass in organization. And I think the world and especially people in India need to know about it and feel proud. Let me go through the data first
- A total of 160000 tents in tent city Hosting 2 million
people at a time; Tent city 4000 hectares
- There are 30 pontoon bridges built in the last 3
months
- 4000 boats have been given licence; Safety inspection
and lifejackets by govt - Approx. 40000 life jackets
- 4.25 lakh electrical connections; 85 sub stations; 128
transformers; 50000 street poles; 7000 led lights; 85 back up generators
- 12 km of ghats; 5 lakh metric tonnes of sand to create
sangam area
- 50000 Police personn
- 2750 cc tv cameras; 328 AI enabled cameras; 20 high surveillance drones; Underwater drones; 4 anti drone systems
- 150000 toilets
- About 300 tonnes of sand had been put in the middle of
the ganges to facilitate the floating platforms.
What about the cleanliness, crowds, sanitation, food ?
1. Cleanliness –
Inspite of so many people at one place, the entire area was quite clean. No
spitting, no litter, no food junk anywhere. No urinating anywhere. No throwing
foodstuff and flowers on the ground. Considering 40 million people walking this
10 sq kms everyday for 40 days this is a phenomenal achievement for India
2. Toilet
facilities – were excellent. We had to use one of the common
ones and it was quite clean. Tented places have their own toilets. Wondering
how they are managing the sewage.
3. Spiritual
organizations – Amazed at the number of spiritual organizations
that were here. They had their own campuses and were self contained. And
everyone of them had devotional music going on and serving annadanam
4. Spirituality
and fun – At the same time there was a festive atmosphere
with people just having fun. People have come in groups – I met one which had
21 family members that were here for Mahakumbh
5. What
drives these people – What is this faith and the yearning for something
better, a devotion so strong that makes them brave the difficulties of walking
many kms carrying their luggage and children in the hot sun without food or
water. It was so humbling to see this.
6. Policemen
helpful – The policemen were polite and went out of their way
to help and direct at great hardships to themselves
7. Boats
at sangam – Absolutely no fighting for space, peacefully
everyone did their dips - no fighting, but organized chaos
8. Food
appearing magically – don’t see provisions coming in- there are extremely
few cafes or food stalls. I think one of the reasons the place is clean.
However every spiritual organization was providing Annadanam and water. Anybody
who is hungry or thirsty can walk into any tent area and ask for food and
he/she will be food. No one is going hungry or thirsty.
9. Water
and sanitation facility – There was enough drinking water available in the
tent area. Sanitation in terms of toilets almost 150000 portable toilets were
available everywhere and the surprising thing was they were quite clean
considering the volume of people using it.
10 Ganges very clean – When taking the dip
I found it was muddy but that’s it. No particle matter, no food, no flowers
etc. After taking it in a bottle and keeping it for a day it was crystal clear water
11 Triveni
sangam – To reduce congestion at the nose point of the
Sangam, the government had deposited over tonnes of sand in the middle of the
sangam and installed floating platforms there. They also gave specific licenses
to 4000 boatmen with mandatory lifejackets for people, so that they could take
people to these platforms. This is a great idea and avoided the crowds.
The entire place was vibrant, energetic and festive and an amazing spiritual festival. So many people of all
walks of life united with a single purpose and an unwavering faith and wanting
to touch or reach out to that little bit more of the spiritual elixir. I came
away deeply touched, humbled and proud of our culture and depth of
spirituality.
Hints to make your trip better
1. Flight tickets better from Varanasi or Lucknow but
at the end of the day I fell it is better to book direct to Prayagraj and back
because you have to brave the traffic from Varanasi to Prayagraj which is
unpredictable.
2. If you do decide to go to Varanasi or Lucknow and
travel here by car then leave at 4 am or before and don’t stop for breakfast on
the way
3. Everything takes time, so ensure you have given
yourself enough time. Going to Triveni Sangam and coming back to your tent is
about 3-4 hours
4. You will walk a lot, and I mean a lot. We ended up
walking 15 km first day and 10 km next day. So get good walking shoes or good slippers
5. Wherever you are moving around you don’t easily get
food. So have a small back pack with water, snacks and banana
6. Its hot during day and cold at night so plan your
wardrobe acc.
7. Be prepared for crowds everywhere but unless you
are going to Sangam area, it is not the jostling unable to breathe sort of
crowds. If you are visiting any temples plan to do so early in the morning
before 530am or at night around 10pm
8. Pontoon bridges are one way so you will end up
walking more on your return especially if there is a VIP visiting maybe about
2-3 km more
9. The Triveni Sangam with floating platforms are
really well thought out. You need to walk to Arail Ghat and a little further
from there where you will find boats. Typically Rs 1500 for 3 people with the
boat dedicated to you. Fix beforehand if possible. He will take you to the
middle of the river where it is easy to have the dip, change and return. Not
crowded at all.
10. Connectivity and power – Not a problem at all. But
carry a battery pack.
Things
to do and See
1. Vasuki temple -The Nagavasuki temple is an important Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vasuki, king of snakes. It is believed to relieve Kaal Sarpa Dosha astrological difficulties. The temple's origins trace back to Lord Vasuki resting here after churning the ocean of milk in vedic times.
2.
Lete hanuman
temple - It
is said that after the victory over Lanka, when Hanumanji was returning, he
felt tired on the way. So at the behest of Sita Mata, he lay down here on the
banks of the Sangam. This temple is believed to be at least 600-700 years old
3. Someshwar
temple -Someshwar Mahadev Mandir
situated in Arail village is one of the eight important tirthsthalas of Prayagraj.
This temple finds mention in the Padma
Purana, Shiva Purana and is worshipped by all the devotees who
participate in the Kumbh.
4. Adi
shankara temple - Shankar
Viman Mandapam. Located north of the Triveni Sangam on the right banks of river Ganga,
this four story temple is built in memory of Adi Shankaracharya.
5. Treta yuga tree - The Akshay
Vat is a sacred banyan tree that is said to be from the Treta Yuga.
According to legend, Sita Devi offered oblations to Dashrath Maharaj under this
tree. When Lord Rama arrived, he asked for a witness, and the tree was the only
one to speak. The tree was blessed to have great importance in the future.
6.
Adi
Beni Madhav temple - Lord
Vishnu’s and Mother Lakshmi’s temple. The place hosting 115 million parthiv
Shiva lingams (Shiva lingams made from soil from a holy river bank that are
) en route to the Adi Beni Madhav temple.
7. Akhadas
- In each Mahakumbh,
there is a special group of Akhadas that are given the first priority in many
aspects. These Akhadas are the traditional religious sects of sadhus that bring
them together, impart knowledge, help people realise the spiritual energy inside
them, and much more. Back in the day, when India fought against invaders and
looters, it is said that the Sadhus of these Akhadas fought tooth and nail to
protect the Hindu faith.
