Kumbh Mela

The Kumbh Mela (festival) is the largest gathering of people for a religious purpose in the world and whilst traveling in India last year I was lucky enough to visit the 2010 Mela taking place in the sacred city of Haridwar, in Northern India, on the banks of the River Ganges.

For Hindus, the Mighty 'Mother' Ganges river is sacred with a spiritual significance dating back thousands of years as a life giving force of nature. Hindu mythology says that she or he who bathes in the Ganges will be rid of all sin and good Karma (as it is called) will be restored. Kumbh Mela's history dates back thousands of years, entwined in Hindu legend and mythology and celebrates a mythical battle between the gods and the demons for a pot (kumbh) of the nectar of immortality.

The Mela takes place every 4 years in a different sacred city in India and attracts literally millions of Hindu pilgrims from all over India to bathe in the River Ganges on specific dates during Kumbh Mela when the alignments of the planets are said to charge the river with enhanced electromagnetic radiations and thus special healing effects. Not only do Hindus come to bathe in the Ganges during Kumbh Mela, but many also come to visit and get blessed by their Guru (spiritual leader) who are waiting in special tented villages located around the Kumbh site.

It was really hot the day we visited the Mela and I have never ever seen so many people in one place - a truely once in a lifetime experience.