An aerial view of devotees taking a holy dip at the Sangam area during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: The Maha Kumbh, which entered its 36th day on Monday, was not only witness to a record number of devotees taking holy dip at the ‘sangam’, but it also witnessed the birth of as many as 12 children at the hospital set up in the Mela.
According to the hospital officials, eight male and six female babies were born at the Central Hospital set up at Sector two in the Maha Kumbh.
Reflecting the craze for the biggest religious event on the Earth, the parents reportedly named them after the rivers associated with the Maha Kumbh.
The children were named Ganga, Yamuna Saraswati (the Sangam is the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers), Amrti, Amavasya and Basant among others, reports said.
The first baby was born at the hospital on December 29 last year when preparations for the Maha Kumbh were on. It was a baby boy and was named ‘Kumbh’ by his parents.
A female child was born at the hospital the very next day. A pregnant woman, who had come to Maha Kumbh looking for work, had given birth to the female child. She was named ‘Ganga’ by her parents.
The hospital staff said that a large number of devotees visited the hospital to see the new born children, when they came to know about their birth. ‘’They (devotees) felt that the children born during the Maha Kumbh were lucky as the event was being held at an auspicious time,’’ said an official associated with the hospital.