Snapshots from Maha Kumbh, where all roads lead to the Ganga

While the Maha Kumbh is the path to moksh (salvation) for believers, for 26-year-old boatman Anil Nishad — whose life has been “intertwined” with Ganga since birth, a fact he takes immense pride in — the mela is his livelihood.

Anil Nishad. (Express photo by Dheeraj Mishra)

A member of the Nishad community, whose traditional occupations are centred around rivers, he casts off his freshly painted pastel green boat, with its repaired deck, tarpaulin-covered frame and life jackets, despite sailing for two straight days.

“Aap Ganga ko humare bina paar nahi kar sakte hain. Ram ko bhi humari madad leni padi thi (You cannot cross the Ganga without boatmen like us. Even Lord Rama needed our help to cross the river),” says Anil, referring to the story of the boatman who helped Lord Rama cross the Ganga during his exile.

Wrapping a saffron scarf around his neck to protect himself from the chilly morning breeze as his boat drifts along the Allahabad Fort, built by Emperor Akbar in 1583, he adds, “Locals don’t use boats very often since they see and touch the river daily. I barely make about Rs 400 per day now. Once the mela starts and outsiders start arriving, I hope to earn enough to get by for the whole year. Otherwise, I will have to migrate to Delhi or Mumbai for work.”

Despite the city revamped, renamed Prayagraj from Allahabad and the grandeur of the Maha Kumbh — which has its genesis in the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Puranas — locals say their faith remain firmly intertwined in the twists, turns and ripples of the Ganga. They cite the instance of Allahabad-born Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first Prime Minister and a modernist, who wanted a portion of his ashes scattered at the Triveni Sangam.

Underconstruction gate of an Akhara. (Express photo by Dheeraj Mishra)

As Prayagraj prepares for the arrival of nearly 40 crore pilgrims during the 45-day mela, the city is undergoing a complete overhaul. While roads are being resurfaced and street lights installed all over, almost every wall at a prime location here either sports murals on themes of religion and women empowerment, or hoardings boasting of government achievements. For locals, the Kumbh makeover has meant that development work pending in areas for years finally got completed.

Anticipating demand, local shopkeepers have stocked up on essential religious items, including puja materials, rudraksha and tulsi garlands, and sacred texts sourced from Nepal, Banaras, Mathura and Vrindavan.

From Shastri Bridge that spans the Ganga, as far as the eye can see, the river bank is chock-a-block with accommodations sporting tarpaulin roofs in red, blue, yellow and saffron, reminiscent of the abstract paintings made from squares and rectangles by Dutch painter and art theoretician Piet Mondrian. As religious music plays on loop, also visible from the bridge are the huge entryways erected by akharas, amusement areas for children and numerous light poles.

Pontoon Bridge at Mela. (Express photo by Dheeraj Mishra)

In the crush of saints and pilgrims looking for salvation at the Kumbh, Satyam Kumar, 23, a resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, plans to cycle to Vaishno Devi, a shrine located nearly 1,600 km away in Jammu and Kashmir, from Prayagraj after praying to Maa Ganga.

Holding a stuffed rucksack, Satyam, who works at his family’s welding shop in Jabalpur, says the mela is a stopover. “I wanted to experience the Maha Kumbh. I had only heard stories of the mela since childhood,” he says.

To a query on his prayer to the venerated river, he says, “I hope to become a cyclist in the future. I will pray to Maa Ganga, like I will at Vaishno Devi, to fulfill my dream.”

Triveni sangam. (Express photo by Dheeraj Mishra)

Unlike Satyam, Shivendra Singh, 25, a government job aspirant from Uttar Pradesh’s Balia, over 250 km away, has a different reason for being at the Kumbh. Shivendra, who is preparing for the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exams, says he arrived in Prayagraj nearly seven months back to prepare for the test. To get “different perspectives on life” while he studied for the exam, Shivendra, a farmer’s son, decided to open a tea stall for the mela.

“What better place to meet everyone — from babas (saints) to adhikaris (officials) — than the Kumbh? This experience will prepare me for any uncertainty in the future. You are aware of the situation of government jobs in the country, aren’t you? says Shivendra, a farmer’s son.

Losses in agriculture brought Deepak Kumar, 48, a resident of Phoolpur, around 35 km away, to the Kumbh. “I faced losses in farming. Some people from my village work for this private contractor, so I decided to join them. At this age, I don’t want to work in a city,” he says.

As Prayagraj prepares for the arrival of nearly 40 crore pilgrims during the 45-day mela, the city is undergoing a complete overhaul. (Express photo by Dheeraj Mishra)

Wearing a neon green jacket, Deepak says he makes Rs 416 daily for an eight-hour shift that involves keeping the river banks clean for a private contractor. “Dekhiye, yeh Ganga ki mahima hai. Yahan har kisi ko aana hi hoga. Ganga me aaye bina kahin mukti nahi hai (This is the glory of Ganga. Everyone will have to come here. There is no salvation without coming to Ganga),” he says, before moving on to clean the next spot.

For Jitendra Giri, a sadhu associated with the Shri Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani, the Maha Kumbh is the “biggest congregation of sadhus in the world”.

Jitendra, who wears a saffron dhoti, sports red chandan (sandalwood) on his forehead and has tied his long dreadlocks on the back of head, says becoming a sadhu involves making balidaans (sacrifices). “But we don’t believe in living a miserable life. We have all the facilities that you do. Babas using luxury vehicles is the norm. In fact, we all strive to get there too. I am an orphan. Without these akharas, where will people like me go?” he says.