Travelling with a Purpose - To Experience the Magh Mela in Allahabad

The Vedic literature states that whoever bathes in the Triveni Sangam at the auspicious time of the Magh Mela is guaranteed liberation from birth and death.

That is specifically the reason why the Magh Mela (the annual festival of Allahabad held during the months of Jan-Feb), also known as the Mini Kumbh Mela, has always attracted millions of sages and pilgrims from all over the world.

I along with my family was on our first pilgrimage to the Magh Mela. But our main purpose for visiting the Mela was not only to take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam, Prayag but also to walk the path where lakhs of saints have left their footprints and experience the positive energy of one of the largest spiritual gathering in the world.

Our excitement rose as we started the walk towards the bathing area. Till the eyes could see and beyond, the entire stretch of land, resembled an enormous sea of pilgrims. We could see many people carrying huge sacks containing their belongings on their heads having come from faraway parts of India. There were people of all ages, genders, babies clinging to their parents, saffron and yellow clad sadhus (sages), and policemen shouting instructions to the devotees. Items for sale included almost everything from tea, fruits, prasads, flowers, diyas even plastic bottles to fill the water of the holiest of the holy. There were puppet shows for the kids, an amusement park, shops selling clothing items like dress materials from Surat, sarees from Banaras, traditional footwear and jewelery from Rajasthan and much much more.

The ‘Bhule Bhatke Shivir’ (Lost and Found Camp) loudspeakers continuously blared out new names of the people who had got separated from their near and dear ones. Living in a crowded suburb of Mumbai and having experienced the crowds first hand, I have to admit I had never seen anything like what was before me that day. The sheer number of people overwhelmed me. But the amazing thing was that we never got jammed and everyone kept on moving as one big mass of humanity!

Nearing the Sangam, we saw many colored tents spread across large areas on both sides of the road. It seemed like a whole city full of tents had come up. People known as Kalpvaasis, stay in these tents for 1 month and follow strict rules of penance to appease the 33 crore Gods believed to be present here during this time of the year.

The city of tents had something for everyone, from markets to eateries even hospitals, all temporarily put up for the event. I saw T.V. vans of various broadcasters who had come to cover the Mela.

One hour and a tiring but nevertheless stirring walk later, we finally reached the Sangam area. Today, being Makar Sankranti, was one of the important days of immersion in the confluence of three of the holy rivers – The Ganga, the Yamuna and the subterranean Saraswati. Bathing in any of these sacred rivers is purifying but the purification is said to increase a hundred times if done at this holy time and place, liberating one from repeated birth and death. Pilgrims were everywhere – some meditating, or performing charity, reading sacred texts, some getting ready for a bath, or returning shivering after taking a dip, while some simply keeping a watch on one’s belongings. I felt awed by their dedication and devotion.

I navigated my way towards the bathing area and stepped in the purifying waters. Even the simple act of a holy dip in some way uplifted and energized my soul. It was an experience which is difficult to put down in words and is best felt or understood in person. We prayed to Maa Ganga, floated a diya and offered holy water to the Sun God to receive His blessings.

Today, 1 year later... when we look back, we can say that each minute we spent in this captivating carnival was a prayer, every moment of it dipped in divinity; it was truly an expedition of spiritual enlightenment. There was so much to see, so much to feel, so much to soak into… believe me, one has to be there, in the midst of it all, to really get a hang of it!

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