My solo travel to the Maha Kumbh mela in Allahabad, in february this year was yet another entry in the firsts list..!! Travelled alone.. about 3000 kms..( 500 kms of which was ticketless travel.. sssshh..!!) changing 6 trains.. accross 4 states. 6 days of stay.. or shall I say 144 hours of stay with no sense of morning or evening or even night.. Innumerable hours of walking.. slept in different beds each day (the definition of a bed changing everyday). Talked in such “shuddha” hindi, To give you an idea of the purity, try looking for what “Aprahan” and “Purvahan”‘ mean in the national language..! Jaisa des, waisa bhes’ I guess..!!
Met people from diverse backgrounds, geographies, religions, cultures, sex, age (this was the Mahakumbh mela, 100 million visitors, remember?) ranging from an amdavadi gujurati to a sataryacha bhau to a bihari who made me feel good about the country (he was explaining the importance of voting in a democracy to a fellow "I know it all" Ayodhavasi who didn't think voting was worth all the time and effort it took). Met a few foreign nationals who made me think about my beliefs, in the Indian religious systems and activites. And wait a minute, I haven’t even started about the sadhus as yet. Well, let’s just leave that to the photographs.
Met people from diverse backgrounds, geographies, religions, cultures, sex, age (this was the Mahakumbh mela, 100 million visitors, remember?) ranging from an amdavadi gujurati to a sataryacha bhau to a bihari who made me feel good about the country (he was explaining the importance of voting in a democracy to a fellow "I know it all" Ayodhavasi who didn't think voting was worth all the time and effort it took). Met a few foreign nationals who made me think about my beliefs, in the Indian religious systems and activites. And wait a minute, I haven’t even started about the sadhus as yet. Well, let’s just leave that to the photographs.
