Maha Kumbh: A gathering of faith

Devotees…come, wash your sins off! Every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, on the banks of the Ganga affords that opportunity to believers.

With a promise to set one off on a journey of new beginnings, the ritualistic bath in river Ganga is considered morally and physically invigorating, cleansing the accumulated evils.

Maha Kumbh 2010 is attracting huge crowds. Beginning on Makar Sankranti on January 14, it will last through till the end of April. Interspersed in that three-month period are 10 ritualistic shahi snans (royal baths) on celestially significant days when the numbers at the Maha Kumbh can run to several millions.

Thousands of spiritual Sadhus and Babas are the focal point, along with the millions of pilgrims who travel across India to attend the auspicious gathering and bathe in the sacred river. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

All barriers of class and caste come down here when millions take the holy dip in the early morning hours. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

A devotee bows his head in a silent prayer to river Ganga. Count the lines on his forehead...a sign of age-old wisdom? (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

According to Hindu mythology, Haridwar is one of the four places where a drop of the nectar of immortality or ‘amrit' fell from the pitcher or ‘kumbh' when Garuda, the divine bird of Lord Vishnu, was spiriting it away from the demons after a pitched battle. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Lost in his chants, amidst the hustle bustle of the temple town, a sadhu sits by the river bank after a dip in the holy Ganga.(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Over time, the Maha Kumbh has come to attract not just Hindu devotees but even those professing other faiths as well as non-believers. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Sadhus are known for a penchant for their ganja (cannabis) chillams. They insist that the mild narcotic helps them concentrate better during meditation.(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The entire town comes alive with the congregation of several million pilgrims with the sole objective of taking a dip in the waters of the holy river at the auspicious time as per the planetary position. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

For some pilgrims, taking part in the kumbh mela marks the trip of a lifetime. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

A marble plaque on the ghats, dedicated to the millions of devotees that throng the temple town of Haridwar.(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Ganga maa, as they call her, is the only binding force here. The sights and sounds of Haridwar and the display of devotion is quite an experience. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Men and women, young and old, drawn from almost all social and economic strata, mingle on the banks of the holy Ganga. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Thousands of holy men and women attend, and the auspiciousness of the festival is in part attributable to this. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

As dusk falls, aartis are performed in all temples and shrines that line the banks of river Ganga, lighting up the temple town. One witnesses the ringing of bells, the swirling of oil lamps and chanting of mantras in a holy unison of sorts.(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

It's a temple of languages here..(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The Ganga aarti is a totally spontaneous happening that captures the essence of the Kumbh and the city it graces. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

As the sun sets, there are a million diyas lit, aartis performed in various temples as well as homes and guest houses all along the river bank, and tiny floral floats released in the waters. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Along the banks of river Ganga, awestruck devotees join in the aarti in a collective act of piety. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The Ganga aarti is one of the most enchanting sights. Amidst the holy chants, offerings of lamps and flowers are made to the Ganga. Immediately after the ceremony, it is a moving sight to watch hundreds of miniature lamps float along the river. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Offerings of flowers, burnt camphor and incense sticks are released into the waters by devotees. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

In just about half an hour, the aarti, a daily ritual is over, and the crowd starts to disperse. What's left behind are thousands of beautiful diyas floating along the river and devotees taking a holy dip in the, now, dark waters of the Ganga. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

A devotee offers prayers on the banks of the River Ganga during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. (AP photo)

Devotees perform rituals on the banks of Ganga. (AP photo)

Aarti being performed amidst a crowd of devotees.(AP photo)

A group of Sadhus stand in a queue to receive prasad being distributed by a woman during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. (AP photo)

A vendor sells plastic cans meant for filling water from the Ganga, during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. (AP photo)

The Maha Kumbh poses a huge organisational challenge to the authorities. There are tens of thousands of policemen, dispersing the crowd over the banks of the river and barricading Har ki Paudi (a mere 150m stretch on the bank of the Ganga considered the holiest of holy places in Haridwar) in order to prevent a stampede. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The waterfront is swarmed with devotees who come to witness the aarti that is performed each day at sunset. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The economy of the small town of Haridwar revolves around religion. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Groups of naga sadhus, with their bodies smeared in ash, and holding spears, swords, tridents and silver maces, march through the town toward the holy river. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Faith transcends all... the old ..and the new.(Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The pilgrims comprise families with children in tow, men and women who have ferried their ageing parents for a final teerth (pilgrimage), entire villages who have trudged in uncomfortable buses to get here, the amused foreigners and the grumpy youngsters who have been forced to come here by their eager parents. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Many of the pilgrims have travelled miles to seek a darshan of the sought-after sadhus. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

An old woman sits on the steps of a temple, watching the pious euphoria of devotees and holy men alike. (Image courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The Maha Kumbh has a sharp message this year - protection of the environment. The pollution of the Ganga will be a major issue at the fair this year - where almost all the spiritual sects and the administration have pledged to protect the river. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

While some sadhus have removed themselves from the society as a whole, others are still part of the modern world. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The holy men are often a mix of old and new, like this one who proudly sports the stylish shades. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

The Kumbh Mela in Haridwar witnesses the maximum gathering of sadhus and devotees. Most of them put in makeshift ashrams at the venue of the Mela of in age-old dharamshalas-- while some of these are huge and ostentatious, others are humble and economical. (Image Courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Perhaps in a holy city, social messages like these find more takers. (Image courtesy: Tejas Mehta)

Street side foodstalls like these cater to the never-ending stream of pilgrims. (Image courtesy: Tejas Mehta)