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Thousands of Hindu holy men arrived in Prayagraj to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival.
Indian authorities are racing against time to get the city of Prayagraj ready to host the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela, described as humanity’s largest gathering.
Around 400 million pilgrims are expected to witness the 45-day spectacle, so grand it can be seen from space.
The event – held once every 12 years – begins on Monday and over the next six weeks, devotees will bathe in Sangam – the confluence of India’s holiest Ganges with the Yamuna River and the mythical goddess Saraswati.
The first major bathing day, Tuesday, will see naked Hindu saints, covered in ashes and wearing matted dreadlocks, known as Naga sadhus, bathe at dawn in this northern Indian town.
Ankit Srinivas
Holy men covered in ashes, some naked and others dressed simply in a loincloth or a marigold garland draped around their necks, arrived at the scene.
Hindus believe that bathing in the holy river will cleanse them of their sins, purify their souls and free them from the cycle of birth and death – because the ultimate goal of Hinduism is salvation.
On Monday, five to eight million devotees are expected to bathe while the next day, their number is expected to exceed 20 million.
To accommodate pilgrims and tourists, a vast tent village, spread over 4,000 hectares, was set up on the banks of the river.
But on Sunday, just hours before proceedings began, many parts of Prayagraj’s vast grounds still appeared to be under construction.
Some of the camps set up by the saints and other devotees had no water or intermittent power supply.
Ankit Srinivas
Hindus believe that bathing in the holy river will cleanse them of their sins.
Thousands of toilet cubicles were yet to be installed and many of them already installed were unusable due to lack of water connection.
Administration official Vivek Chaturvedi told the BBC that organizers were hampered by the fact that this year the monsoon waters took longer to recede, narrowing the window for activities. of construction.
But, he insisted, “preparations are almost complete and all systems will be in place to welcome visitors.”
“We have laid 650 km of temporary roads and installed tens of thousands of tents and toilets. More than 100,000 people, including more than 40,000 police and security officers, are working around the clock to make this a success,” Mr. Chaturvedi said.
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What is the Kumbh Mela?
The festival, which ends on February 26, has been recognized as an intangible heritage of humanity by the United Nations agency, UNESCO.
Its origin is rooted in a mythological story about a fight between gods and demons over a Kumbh (a pitcher) of nectar that emerged during the Church of the Ocean.
As the two camps competed for the pot of elixir that promised them immortality, a few drops spilled and fell in four cities: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik.
While the fight lasted 12 heavenly years – each equivalent to 12 Earth years – the Kumbh Mela festival takes place every 12 years in the four cities. An ardh or half Kumbh is organized halfway between two festivals.
The mela is organized in all four cities, but the biggest festivals, where previous attendance records are broken, are always held in Prayagraj.
Hindu seer Mahant Ravindra Puri said this time the festival was “very special” and described it as “a Maha (grand) Kumbh”.
“This is because the current alignment of the planets and stars is identical to the one that existed at the time of the spill,” he told the BBC.
“Such perfection is observed after 12 Kumbh festivals or 144 years,” he said.
Ankit Srinivas
Sangam in Prayagraj is the confluence of India’s holiest Ganges with Yamuna and the mythical unseen Saraswati
For festival-goers, a major attraction is the presence of naked Naga sadhus, or ascetics, and it is a sight to watch as they throw themselves into the icy waters.
But for devotees it has a special meaning: they believe that the waters are imbued with the purity of the thoughts and deeds of the saints.
Over the weekend, groups of holy men arrived at the Mela grounds in large, noisy processions.
A group of men covered in ashes, some naked and others dressed simply in a loincloth or a marigold garland draped around their necks, walked holding tridents, swords and small two-headed drums.
Another group had its leaders on chariots escorted to their encampment in a grand procession with a musical orchestra, dancers, horses and camels.
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Officials say 30 temporary floating bridges have been built across the river to facilitate visitor movement.
What are the best swimming days?
Bathing dates and auspicious times are decided by astrologers, based on the alignment of specific planets and constellations.
This time there are six particularly favorable days for swimming:
January 13: Paush Purnima January 14: Makar Sankranti January 29: Mauni Amavasya February 3: Basant Panchami February 12: Magh Purnima February 26: Maha Shivaratri
Three of them – January 14 and 29 and February 3 – have been designated as Shahi Snan (or royal bath) days when Naga sadhus bathe.
The largest gathering is expected on January 29, when 50 to 60 million worshipers are expected to take to the water.
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Argentinian Sebastian Diago is among tens of thousands of foreigners visiting the Kumbh Mela
Away from the river, the town of Prayagraj was decorated for the mega-event.
Officials said around 200 roads were widened and a fresh coat of paint was applied to the facades leading to Sangam, while walls were decorated with colorful paintings and murals depicting stories from texts Hindu mythology.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims, many from foreign countries, have already reached the city.
Sebastian Diago, visiting as part of a group of 90 Argentine members, said he made the trip to “experience devotion first-hand.”
“I felt the pull of the Ganges so I came,” he said.
“I go to bathe in the river because I feel the need to connect with the Ganges.”
Ankit Srinivas
A vast tent city was set up on the banks of the river to welcome visitors.
How big is the festival?
Area: 4,000 hectares 160,000 tents 40,000 police and security guards 15,000 sanitation workers 99 parking lots for more than half a million vehicles 30 floating bridges floating on the river 67,000 street lights 150,000 toilets; 25,000 dustbins200 water vending machines and 85 tube wellsAnkit Srinivas
Some pilgrims complained about the lack of facilities on the Mela grounds.
The Indian government said it was spending 70 billion rupees ($812 million; £665 million) to organize the festival and, according to local media, the state government would earn 250 billion rupees (2, $9 billion; £2.3 billion).
Saints and leaders of large campsites said they understood the complexity of organizing such a large-scale festival, but some pilgrims complained about the lack of facilities.
Baba Amarnathji, a 60-year-old monk dressed in saffron robes, showed the BBC a small tent he had set up with cloth and plastic sheets draped over three bamboo poles.
Previously, he said, he could sleep for free in tents set up by the administration, but this time there were no such facilities.
“The police are trying to chase me out of here. But where will I go? Everyone says this festival is for sadhus like me, but I see all arrangements are made for tourists.”
