Uttarakhand: The Land of the Gods.
This beautiful state on the foothills of the Himalayas, woven with the sacred rivers, reminded me of the stories from the epics. The Mahabharat. <cue tv show themesong>
The only thing I heard about Kumbh Mela was on some tv travel show, probably from the perspective of some white dude. Supposedly, the largest congregation of people in the world, with an estimated 40 million or something flowing through? This year was the Purna Kumbh Mela, which happens once in 12 years.
The mela runs for four months, starting in January and culminating on April 15th, the final day. The day we arrived.
Me and Engineer, jumped on a plane from BOM to DEL. Hired a driver, and headed out to meet up with the rest of the gang. We were going to the mela!
Getting into Haridwar was a traffic jam all the way from Delhi. What should be a four-hour ride, took us all night (12 hours) of crawl-and-park on the highway. Definitely, the longest queue to enter anywhere I’ve ever been. Finally, early morning, we decided to leave the car, and hike the last stretch into Haridwar, with the rest of the pilgrims.
People were waking, brushing, pissing, shitting, chewing, drinking, undressing, dipping, bathing, rinsing, combing, re-dressing, cooking, eating, laughing. Everywhere. On the banks of the river, in the fields, on the streets, and bridges on the way in. The sun was coming up, and morning dew vaporizing. The freshest part of the day was beginning.
Large crowds of people in brilliant colours, from families to whole villages, flowing into the city. This was all unreal, surreal, and a real sensory overload. You could let yourself go, and flow with the people. Which led us over a bridge above the mighty flowing Ganga, into town. To the hotel where the rest of the gang were at.
In a tiny room, Michiko, Chota Che, and Unni were crashed in a small bed, the size of the room. They looked like they hadn’t slept in a week, like they were at some long weekend epic party. Tired as shit, but damn excited and alive.
Something cracked them.
Bonding had taken place
Cleansing had occurred
Love had been reinvented.
They poured. They poured hard.
Me and Engineer listened, as they shared their moments.
Ok Unni, take it away from here for the next chapter, and pass it on.
Flashbacks and lots of photos, appreciated.
