Devotees take a holy dip in the Ganga river during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela festival, in Prayagraj,
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mahakumbh Nagar: Maha Kumbh, a gathering of teeming millions at Prayagraj, is a place where a person can easily lose contact with other family members in the milling crowd, but many pilgrims have come up with ingenious solutions to stay together on the road to Sangam and back.
While some have brought a long rope and made a 'safety circle' out of it within which a group moves, many others have chosen to ties knots using clothing items of each other to remain connected.
Of course, those holding hands are endeavouring to not let go of it despite struggling in the massive crowds coursing their way to the Sangam, the place where rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati meet in this holy city.
The stage is set for the closure of the 45-day Maha Kumbh with the auspicious 'snan' to take place on Mahashivratri on Wednesday even as the security personnel sought to keep a vigilant eye on the bustling crowds heading for Sangam for the final bathing rituals.
The mega festival has also been a huge gathering of security and sanitation personnel, who have worked round-the-clock in multiple shifts to keep the Mela area safe and clean.
The spectacle, which takes place once in 12 years, began this time on January 13 (Paush Purnima) and saw grand processions of Naga Sadhus, the three 'Amrit Snan' that drew record numbers of pilgrims, with over 60 crore pilgrims having taken the holy dip since the start of this greatest spiritual gathering of humanity on earth.
On Monday night, till way past midnight, many people got separated from their loved ones and friends either at the banks or at other parts of the Mela area, while several others were also united through use of human aid and digital technology.
The 'Lost and Found' Centre at Sector 3, Akshay Vat Road, was abuzz with activity even at 3 am on Tuesday.
As the night inched towards dawn, Ramesh Kaidan from Madhya Pradesh after having lost contact with his wife waited at the centre anxiously for reunion as did Munnilal Thakur from Bihar's West Chandigarh district waiting to be united again with his brother, sister-in-law and grandson.
A flurry of announcements were made on loudspeakers in the Mela Area while a digital screen at the centre displayed names (mostly with photos) of persons lost or found by authorities.
The Triveni Marg connecting Naya Pul near Minto Park and the Maha Kumbh Mela area was flooded in day time and the crowds continued to flood the streets, moving towards the Sangam or returning to the next destination after the holy dip.
At nearly 3:45 AM, a group of 34 pilgrims -- friends and family members -- from Himachal Pradesh's Kangra were on their way out, while a huge batch of 100 devotees from Maharashtra, sporting matching saffron vest of the touring company was on the way to take a holy dip soon after the arrival at Prayagraj station.
Som Dutt Sharma, 34, one of the members of the Kangra group, carefully watched the rest of the members as they moved inside a circle of rope held by a few members from different sides.
"We have made this circle of safety so that we don't lose each other. This is our first visit to any Kumbh and we are aware of the risks of separation, hence this arrangement," he told PTI.
Many others are staying linked by tying a knot using clothing of two persons.
Ajay Kumar, a local resident of Peeli Kothi area, who has watched hordes of pilgrims pass by every day from his home since the Kumbh Mela began on January 13, said, "People from villages are using the method of tying knots. So, a male pilgrim tying know with his dhoti with a 'pallu' of the saree of a woman accompanying him or two women tying knots using each other's shawals." The idea is not to get separated at any cost since many people, especially the old, are not carrying any mobile phone and they hardly can recall the contact number, so once they lose contact, it becomes very difficult to reunite, he told PTI.
"Some persons are even wearing a single 'ghunghroo' in one leg just so that it's sound can help trace each other if lost in the crowd," said Akshat Lal, a young scholar, whose mother camped there in a tent since January 13 to observe rituals during the Kumbh.
Two days before the culmination of the mega festival, hordes of pilgrims heavily thronged the river banks at the mela even till well past midnight, all vying to take a holy dip, while the vendors sold 'puja' ware and the security personnel sought to manage an ocean of crowd converging at the confluence point, proving evidently that the Triveni Sangam truly never sleeps.
Meanwhile, from dawn to dusk and sunrise to sunset, the cycle of spiritual bathing at the mega gathering of humanity in this holy city goes on without a single break.