Goin’ Back to India!
450 million people.
That’s a LOT of people. More than the population of the U.S.
450 million people are predicted to attend the religious festival of Maha Kumbh Mela in India in the coming weeks. The 45-day festival will be the largest gathering of human beings on planet earth.
I will be one of them.
“Why?” you might ask.
Good question, for which I don’t have a logical answer. I love India. Traveling to India is travel on steroids. Chaotic, contradictory and colorful. Unpredictable and surprising. And I love surprises!
I am fascinated by the prospect of so many people traveling to a location on the confluence of three rivers in northern India: the sacred Ganges, the Yumana and the mythical Saraswati, where they will submerge themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cleanse them of their sins, purify their soul and break the cycle of rebirth - thus attaining salvation.
I do not plan to submerge myself in river water. I don’t believe in rebirth. I believe this is my one and only lifetime, and I want to fill my remaining days with as many unusual and captivating experiences as I can - while I still have the good health and energy to do so. That’s my idea of heaven!
Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years, at one of four different auspicious sites when there’s a specific celestial alignment. Apparently, this year’s planetary configuration only occurs every 144 years, making it extra special. In fact, on opening day, when they expected 20 million people, they received 35 million!
Candidly, I’m especially looking forward to seeing the reclusive sadhus, Hindu holy men, who will have emerged from their caves with their dreadlocks, ash-smeared bodies and colorful (often minimal) clothing.
There are 4 to 5 million sadhus (holy men) in India who have renounced worldly life in order to gain spiritual powers and mystical knowledge. They live in caves, forests and Hindu temples.
Authorities have set up a temporary tent city which includes 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets and a drinking water pipeline of almost 800 miles. The site is roughly the size of 7,500 football fields! It’s gonna be a “WOW!” experience, for sure!
I’m staying just outside the perimeter, in what looks to be a charming and lovely tented accommodation for three nights.
I’m hoping the bed will be slightly more cushioned than this image suggests!
I’m traveling with a handful of female friends, led by Philippa Kaye, Founder of Indian Experiences - with whom I previously collaborated on WOW! Travel Club projects. Philippa is well-connected, well-respected and just an all-around fun, fabulous friend. I cannot wait to share this experience with her and the gutsy women who trust me enough to jump onboard!
Philippa makes friends wherever she goes!