All said and done, I always wished to face ‘Adventure’. The adrenaline rush has its own thrill. But my mother had her own reasons for not allowing me jump down a cliff. Well, I was and still I am adamant over it that some day I am for sure going to do Bungee jumping. But recently I had to witness this adventure ~ fully Indian style. And mind you I accompanied my cousin to Kumbh Mela and the adventure was one of its kind. The year 2010 is the Purna Kumbh Mela which means it’s the fair that is celebrated after every 12 years. We were going to Haridwar, city located in Uttrakhand. This fair is said to have the largest gathering where million n zillion of people come as devotees, maximum of them are Sadhus. You can not imagine what million of people gathered in one place would mean, even I had no idea till the time I did not see it.
We had to go by our own vehicle as there were no, reservations available in the Train (all seats were full). The rout we took was from Delhi –> Muradnagar –> Modinagar –> Khatauli –> Purkaji –> Roorkie –> Haridwar. The roads have their own plight to tell. The narrow roads with the humongous traffic, honking vehicle to make way… but the optimism lies when you think of a Joy- Ride of an Amusement Park. I would suggest taking vehicle with four-wheel drive. It is not a smooth sailing though but better than a normal bus or a car. The roads at some places have big pits, which is why I considered it as a joy ride.

The actual journey began once we reached our destination. To be honest I was claustrophobic. There were men, women, children and again men, and women…. No end. And our team of people was another addition. If I had to do a head count I would have failed miserably. The smell in the air was full of dust and ashes. Yes, the sadhu’s cover them fully with the ash dust. The ‘Bhagwa Vastra’(saffron coloured wrap) is what all the sadhu’s wear which separate them from the other people. But then there are other sets of sadhu’s who prefer not to wear anything, (referred as ‘Naga Sadhu’) and still manage to dwell in the extreme cold of North India.

We checked in our hotel, which disappointed me a bit. With so many people how can you expect luxury? We had to settle down in a hotel below average, it did not even had a facility of hot water!! Amazing!! I was in no mood to even look at the icy water. Sitting on the hard mattress, I was thinking about bungee jumping or something that thrilled me.
But, hey wait… what if I took a bath with this ice-cold water. Is this not an adventure in itself? Sure it is!!!! And, there you go… I don’t have to typecast adventure. It’s right here. Fortunately, the country I dwell in have adventure at every step… be it’s a celebration or fest/fair like these.
I was following my cousin and his team as they went in different directions to shoot the best pictures. I was gaping at the face of every sadhu near me, like a child who is trying to search for someone he knows in an unknown place. Really, I did not connect with any of them. But, still I had a feeling to stay there for some more time.
The main tradition is to take bath in the river Ganga. Seeing these Sadhus going and immersing them in the chilled water made me go weak in my knees, made my nerves endings go numb (though the dirty ghats will never impress me). Well, now it was becoming a lot easier to relate it to an Adventure. These Sadhus have some strength that they could survive any condition.

The best part is that there were these serious seminars, conferences, and debates held by different Sadhu Sangathan (big sadhu groups) To my delight these Sadhu’s were eating once a day- mostly dinner. Govt. of India provides tents, water, and electricity for the devotees and Sadhus.
My friends started interacting with a group of Sadhus and they told us the historical tale of Kumbh Mela. The Kumbh Mela dates back many centuries in Ancient India to the Vedic period, where the river festivals first started getting organized. In Hindu mythology, its origin is found in one of the popular creation myths and the Hindu theories on evolution, the Samudra manthan episode (Churning of the ocean of milk), which finds mention in many Vedas.
The Gods lost their strength, and to get it back, they thought of churning the ocean of milk for amrit (the nectar of immortality), which required them to make a temporary agreement with the demons, to work together and promise of sharing the nectar equally. However, when the Kumbha (pot) containing the amrita appeared, a fight ensued. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human years) the Gods and demons fought in the sky for the pot of amrita. It is believed that during the battle, Lord Vishnu flew away with the Pot of elixir, and that is when drops of amrita fell at four places on earth: Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, and that is where the Kumbh Mela is observed every twelve years.
An outbreak of cholera occurred at the 1892 Mela at Haridwar, which lead to the rapid improvement of arrangements by the authorities and the formation of Haridwar Improvement Society, and in 1903 about 400,000 people attended the fair. During the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede at Allahabad, around 500 people were killed, and scores were injured.
Ten million people gathered at Haridwar for the Kumbh on April 14, 1998.In 2001, around 1 million people from outside of India and from around the world participated in the ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’ at Allahabad, with a total participation of approximately 60 million. The dates for this mela were special due to the planetary positions that repeat only once in 144 years. In 2007, over 60 million people attended the holy gathering.

The history mesmerized me. So many people gather here only because the Vedas describe that these places had a drop of amrit on it’s soil. Stampede or any disease has not stopped them from coming here. That’s devotion!!!
It was a day schedule, as we had to drive back the next morning. Frankly, Kumbh may have its spiritual aspect, its own set of devotion, but I realized that you could find adventure or thrill in almost anything. Dipping in ice cold water in the middle of severe winters, living with acceptance with so many people for almost 4 months, spending the cold nip night singing bhajans and maintaining the spirit of coming back again to this severity even when history marks it’s brutality of killing so many.

I am not sure if I would like to taste this adventure again but for sure that is the Spirit of India!!!