1.5 cr take Maha dip

Mahakumbh Nagar (UP): The fog was thick, the cold intense and the waters freezing as the Maha Kumbh, the world's largest gathering, began on Monday with 1.5 crore people taking a dip in the Sangam in their quest for ‘moksha' and the be-lief it will cleanse their sins. Spirituality and astrology, culture and reli-gion, tradition and modern-day technology… it all fused into one in the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati in Prayagraj.

More than 40 crore people, including many from abroad, are expected over 45 days in the mela being held after 12 years. Besides, seers claim the celestial permutations and combinations for the event are taking place after 144 years, making the occasion even more auspicious for the faithful. And so it was that a sea of people converged in Prayagraj for the fabled Maha Kumbh.

Ash smeared sadhus from their abode in the Himalayas, the religious from across the country and abroad and those just curious to take in the sights and sounds of the biggest religious spectacle of all, the Maha Kumbh beckoned them all. Thirteen Akharas of seers from different sects are participating in the Maha Kumbh.

And as the famed mela formally began in the darkness of pre-dawn on the occasion of Paush Purnima' to the sound of conch shells and bhajans, the excitement was palpable in the sprawling Sangam area as devotees -- mostly in groups -- walked to-wards the waters chanting “Jai Ganga Maiyya”, “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Shri Ram”.

Former US Army soldier-turned-ascetic Michael joined the Juna Akhara and is now known as 'Baba Mokshapuri'. Sharing his journey of trans-formation, he said, "I was an ordinary man with a family and career. But I realised that nothing in life is permanent, so I embarked on a quest for salvation. This is my first Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, and the spiritual vibes are extraordinary.”

A devotee from Bazil said, “I practise yoga in Brazil, I have come here for 'moksha'. This one is very special, once in 144 years. India is like the spir-itual height of the world. Sanatan Dharma is my mission of life and it changed my life, it changed the way I see the world, my family. Jai Shri Ram.”

Also in the teeming crowd was Julie from Spain. “I am feeling grateful for this opportunity to dive into the sacred river here at the sacred point. I am fulfilled with bliss," she said.

In his message on the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that Maha Kumbh brings together countless people in a sacred con-fluence of faith, devotion and culture. “The Maha Kumbh embodies In-dia's timeless spiritual heritage and celebrates faith and harmony," he said.

A group of women from Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar was busy sing-ing folk songs. And there was a team of YouTubers from South Korea cap-turing various shots of the Maha Kumbh as was a team from Japan.

Contingents from states across India were seen too at various ghats of Prayagraj. Appreciating the arrangements made for the devotees, Kailash Narayan Shukla from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh said, “Good ar-rangements were made for the pilgrims and we had no problems in tak-ing the holy dip."

Given the massive numbers of people, there were those who got inevita-bly separated from their groups - a recall in another era of a favourite Hindi film trope of siblings getting separated in the Kumbh Mela. The times have changed, however. The Uttar Pradesh government imple-mented several crowd-control initiatives, including 'Bhula-Bhatka' camps, police assistance centres and deployment of personnel on spe-cially constructed watchtowers. Within the first couple of hours itself, more than 250 individuals got ‘lost' but were ‘found' thanks to efforts by the administration, officials said.