A makeshift city is rising beside India’s holy rivers in preparation for the Kumbh Mela, a massive Hindu religious festival set to take place next month. This year’s event, which will run from January 13 to February 26, is expected to be the largest gathering in history, with over 400 million pilgrims expected to visit the sacred site at Prayagraj, India.
The Kumbh Mela, a millennia-old religious tradition, is held once every 12 years at the confluence of the holy Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers. The significance of this year’s event is heightened as it coincides with a rare alignment of the planets, adding a spiritual dimension to the already enormous gathering.
At the site, workers are toiling around the clock to prepare the sprawling venue, which will cover over 4,000 hectares (15 square miles). Among them is 48-year-old laborer Babu Chand, who is digging trenches for electrical cables. “So many devotees are going to come,” he said. “I feel I am contributing my bit – what I am doing seems like a pious act.”
A giant tent city, two-thirds the size of Manhattan, is being constructed on the floodplains of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. Vivek Chaturvedi, the festival’s spokesperson, stated, “Some 350 to 400 million devotees are going to visit the mela, so you can imagine the scale of preparations.”
Setting up for the Kumbh Mela is akin to building a temporary city. Authorities are constructing roads, lighting, housing, and sewage systems to accommodate the vast number of visitors. “What makes this event unique is its magnitude and the fact that no invitations are sent to anybody… Everyone comes on their own, driven by pure faith,” Chaturvedi explained.
In addition to the essential infrastructure, the festival will feature 150,000 toilets, 68,000 LED lights, and community kitchens capable of serving up to 50,000 people simultaneously. The city of Prayagraj has also undergone a significant makeover, with large posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath plastered throughout, reflecting the intertwining of politics and religion in the region.
The Kumbh Mela has deep roots in Hindu mythology. The festival commemorates a battle between gods and demons over a pitcher (or “kumbh”) containing the nectar of immortality. Four drops of the nectar fell to Earth, and each year, the Kumbh Mela rotates between four cities where these drops are believed to have landed: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain. The Prayagraj gathering, held every 12 years, is the largest.
This year’s Kumbh Mela will be a “Maha Kumbh,” or “Great Kumbh,” a special version of the festival that draws even more pilgrims. The last Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, in 2019, attracted 240 million visitors, but this year’s expected numbers are much higher.
Historian Heramb Chaturvedi explained that the timing of the Kumbh Mela is based on the movements of Jupiter in the zodiac. “When it completes 12 zodiac signs, then it is Kumbh,” he said.
As the festival approaches, some pilgrims have already arrived, including the revered naga sadhus, or naked monks, who have walked for weeks from remote areas to participate. These ascetics, who dedicate their lives to meditation, will lead the first of the six most auspicious bathing dates on January 13.
“I have come here to give my blessings to the public,” said 90-year-old naga sadhu Digambar Ramesh Giri, who has arrived naked with his dreadlocked hair tied in a bun. “Whatever you long for in your heart you get at Kumbh.”
The Kumbh Mela remains one of the world’s most remarkable religious gatherings, not only for its scale but also for the deep devotion and spiritual significance it holds for millions of Hindus across the globe.
