Kumbh Mela: A City Built In Two Weeks!

Tathaastu – said the Gods in Hindu mythology. And your wish was granted, whatever it might be.

Tathaastu – says India, to millions of devotees, every 12 years. The gift? A sprawling, functional city - built in just two weeks!

I call it the ‘magic city’. The city magically pops out at the banks of the river Ganges in Allahabad, remains there till the devotees are finished with their business and then magically disappears! Have you guessed the event I’m talking about? Yes, it’s the Purna Kumbha Mela. Millions of devotees, from all parts of the world, gather at Allahabad every 12 years to take a holy dip at the sangam (confluence) of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.

Photo Credit: Devinasch/Wikimedia

While television and the media brings us live feed of the ghats (riverbanks), the ceremonies, the holy dip and of the sages, what most of us do not know is the mammoth effort it takes to shelter, feed and keep safe the millions of devotees that arrive here. A whole city is laid out on a grid, constructed and then dismantled within a matter of few weeks. So remarkable and unique is the whole concept that it has captured the attention of the bright minds at Harvard University. I think wizards are at work here. You would too, once you’ve gone through these mindboggling statistics –

About 700,000 tents are erected to house the devotees
Pipes are laid out throughout the city to make available clean drinking water
25,000 tonnes of food grains are procured to feed the pilgrims
A temporary super-specialty hospital has been built for anybody who falls ill
Massive television screens flash information about missing people
31police stations and 41 police check-posts are set up to maintain law and order
36 fire stations will get into the act in case there is a conflagration
A special electricity grid is set up
Mass vaccinations are done

Rome was not built in a day. Nor can any city be. But every 12 years, Indians can prove that we can do it in two weeks.

Even as I write, I crave to be there. To be one of those millions who take shelter in the magic city during the Kumbh Mela. It’s the novelty of living in a tent for a few days. It’s the excitement of living in a city that’s just there for me – built for me and will disappear when I am gone! While hotels and guest houses are appealing, the city’s charm pervades all. Unlike other cities (permanent ones!), this city is well equipped with all the amenities to keep you comfortable.

The 2013 Kumbh Mela is a special one. This is the Maha Kumbh Mela, which happens only once in 144 years! I, you and many like us are lucky (if not blessed!) to be able to witness this phenomenon.

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Manoj singh | on 26 May 2018

Kumbh Parva is an important festival of Hindu religion, where hundreds of devotees bathe in the Kumbh festival site Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, and Nashik. Each of these places is organized every 12th year. In Haridwar and Allahabad, there is a semi-Kumbha in the interval of six years between two Kumbh festivals. The meaning of the word ‘half’ means half and for this reason, in the interval of twelve years, in the middle of the full moon, ie six years after the completion of Aquarius Aquarius is held. The last Kumbha in Haridwar was held in 1998. The history of Kumbh Mela is at least 850 years old. As it travels in twelve zones, it takes 12 years. Therefore, after every twelve years, Kumbha is organized at the same place. But for Kumbh, there is a plan for Kumbh in every third year at different places in different places. One year of the earth is the day of the Gods, therefore every 12 years Kumbha is organized in one place. Twelve years of the gods come 144 years after the people of the earth. It is believed that Kumbh is held in heaven after 144 years, so that year Mahakumbha is organized on earth. For more information visit

Kumbh Mela: A City Built In Two Weeks!

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