Kumbh Mela begins as lakhs of devotees take holy dip in Sangam
Allahabad, Jan 15: At the break of dawn, chants of 'Har Har Gange' reached its crescendo as lakhs of devotees, ascetics and religious leaders of various orders congregated at the Sangam here on Tuesday for a ritual dip, marking the beginning of the Kumbh Mela.
The confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati has called out to the religious for centuries and Makar Sankranti, which marks the beginning of the festival, is one of the sacred bathing days of the 50-day Kumbh Mela.
Devotees braved the cold weather to take a dip in the icy water as they reached the Kumbh Nagari which witnessed a huge rush of people from far-away lands as early as 4 in the morning.
Sadhus of 13 akharas (seven Shaiva, three Vaishnava, two Udasina, and one Sikh) who have traditionally participated in the Kumbh Mela, the largest congregation in the world, were the first to take the holy bath known as 'Shahi Snan'.
They marched majestically, dancing and humming devotional songs, all the way to the confluence.
"Me and my family came around 4:30 am thinking that it will be too crowded later.
"Not that it is any less crowded now. Also, we didn't want to miss the march of various akharas that will be taking part at the Shahi Snan ritual," said 35-year-old Anshuman, who had just taken the holy dip.
The order in which the holy dip is performed by various akharas is pre-determined.
It started with Mahanirvani along with the Atal akhara, the Niranjani along with the Ananada Akhara, and the Juna along with the Avahana and Agni akharas.
They are followed by Nirvani akhara, Digambara akhara, Nirmohi akhara, Bada Udasin akhara, Naya Udasin akhara and lastly by the lone Sikh akhara called Nirmal akhara.
Attracting eyeballs of one and all, especially the foreigners, was the march of Naga sadhus, a martial order of ascetics who move about naked with ash smeared on their whole body.
"It is surreal. I had always heard about them. In fact, one of the reasons we wanted to come to the Kumbh was to see them in real as we are told that this is the only festival in which they arrive in numbers," said Manuel Matthaus, who had come from Germany.
"Yes, I did plan to take the bath. But I guess the water now is too freezy for my linking. May be later in the evening," he added, as his girlfriend was busy capturing the spectacle on her camera.
About 12 crore people are expected to visit the Kumbh between now and Maha Shivratri on March 4, when the Mela will come to a close, for a holy dip at the Sangam. It was traditionally called 'Ardh Kumbh' as it takes place twice in 12 years, but the present Uttar Pradesh government recently renamed it 'Kumbh'.
In 2013, according to a recent book 'Kumbha: The Traditionally Modern Mela', 12 crore attended the grand fair.
The state government expects the number to go higher this time.
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Leaves of policemen won't be approved till normalcy returns: Karnataka HM G Parameshwara
Bengaluru, May 10 (PTI): In view of the prevailing security situation in the country, policemen will not be given leaves, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Saturday.
He said the Chief Minister will hold a special meeting this evening to review the preparedness to deal with any situation.
"We will not approve any leaves or holidays of policemen at this juncture because we don't know when normalcy returns. The Centre will inform us when the normalcy returns. Till such time we have to be alert," Parameshwara told reporters.
He said the state government has to work effectively everywhere especially in the coastal region.
"Learning from our past experience during war, security should be strong in the coastal regions. We have to be alert all along the coastal line, right from Uttar Kannada to Dakshina Kannada," the Minister explained.
According to Parameshwara, there are three layers of security in the coastal area, which are police, security arranged by ports and the Indian Navy.
He also said that Siddaramaiah will chair a meeting with officials of Home and Revenue Department to review the preparedness of the state government to deal with any situation.
The chief minister would review the availability of essential commodities and all other equipments to deal with any crisis that may emerge in the wake of "war like situation" in the country, he explained.
"All the necessary arrangements such as ensuring availability of food grains, essential commodities, water, hospitals and medicines have to be made. It is just a preparation," Parameshwara said.
During the meeting the Chief Minister will also discuss any latest advisory that might have come from the Centre the previous day, the Minister said.
He added that the centre has issued a set of advisories to all the state governments. Accordingly Karnataka government has taken measures.
"We have tightened the security in and around sensitive locations. We have also identified some locations where suspicious activities can happen. We have sensitised all the locations in the state," Parameshwara said.
