A Sacred Spectacle And Systemic Struggles: The Mahakumbh Experience

The grand Mahakumbh has finally come to a memorable close on the auspicious day of Maha Shivratri. 45 days of celebration, 66 crore footfalls, numerous Amrit snaps, and a few accidents, it served as the experience of a lifetime. The mela commenced on January 13, at the confluence of the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, also known as the "Triveni Sangam" in Prayagraj. It has set a record of the largest gathering of humanity in the world. The event attracted devotees around India from various 'akharas', 'Naga Sadhus' and foreigners who took part in the procession to perform the ritual of 'Amrit Snan'-- a sacred and auspcious bath in the river. The Amrit Snan is said to cleanse your sins, but it is truly ironic that the same 'pure' water has been polluted by us all.

Capturing a lot of media attention, as in the case of IIT Baba or the Harry Potter look alike which has been rampant and viral throughout social media, a much more astounding fact is its effect on the tourism and hospitality sector-- in the form of a whopping three lakh crore rupees (calculated) of revenue generated by the UP Government, along with the provision of opportunity of employment, direct or indirect.

With a budget of 7500 crores, Prayagraj saw the set up of a temporary city for the accommodation of pilgrims and the development of additional flyovers, underpasses, and widening of roads with Railways operating hundreds of special trains, 700 chartered flights arriving and deployment of 14,000 buses by the state transport. This became a bit concerning as the tourist burden increased. A disputed 30 people were killed at the Sangam on the auspicious day of Mouni Amavasya. The discrepancies in the numbers led to the criticism of the state government’s public handling and negligence. Critics has implicated ‘VIP culture’ along with the abysmal planning. With the people walking to reach their destination and waiting for long hours due to frequent closure of routes, VIPs arrived in vehicles to the ghats. This made the people skeptical of whether ‘hamara number aayega ki nahi?’ [when is it our turn?] which then took a drastic turn.

Despite these mishaps, millions of devotees poured into the procession along the ghats. The final day saw elaborate security and logistical arrangements to manage the rush. Ending with the echoes of 'Har Har Mahadev’ the Mahakumbh has been an amalgamation of Indian culture, spirituality and ‘oneness’ experienced by foreign tourists and has also played a significant role in highlighting a few loopholes in the system.