Kumbh Mela festival begins

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Hundreds of thousands of people have been bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad in India, on the opening day of the Kumbh Mela festival.




India is a land of spectacles, it is a land of teeming millions and a land of an ancient culture and civilisation.

In my long years in India I have seen many spectacles but none so remarkable as the two Maha or Great Kumbh Melas which I attended.

I have seen vast crowds assemble but none as big as the millions who flocked to the north Indian city of Allahabad to bathe at the confluence where the cloudy waters of the river Ganges meet the blue waters of the river Yamuna on the most auspicious day of those Melas.

I have never been more forcefully reminded that India's age old culture survives today than I have been by those two Kumbh Melas.Anyone who wants to enjoy the Kumbh Mela to the full must appreciate its many different aspects. [By Mark Tully Former BBC India Correspondent]



Millions of Hindu pilgrims have arrived in the Indian city of Allahabad as the Kumbh Mela festival gets under way.On Monday thousands began bathing at the point where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers converge, with up to ten million more set to do so over the coming days.

The event, which takes place once every 12 years, is billed as the biggest gathering of humanity on Earth.

Kumbh Mela in numbers

Visitors: 80-100 million

Number of days: 55

Area: 20 sq km (4,932 acres)

Drinking water: 80 million litres

Toilets: 35,000

Doctors: 243

Police: 30,000

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Main Bathing Dates - During Kumbh Fair - 2013



Makar Sankranti 14 January
Paush Poornima 27 January
Mauni Amavasya 10 February
Basant Panchami 15 February
Maghi Poornima 25 February
Mahashivratri 10 March

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A Holy bath during this period carries special significance. Those who take a holy bath in the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri acquire pious credits.

Paush Purnima
The day occurs when the moon is full in the Hindu month of Paush. This is the last full moon of winter. By this time, the sadhu and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrive at the Kumbh Mela.

Mauni Amavasya Snan
For the holy men and women, this is the main bathing day. New members to various holy monastic orders receive their first initiation on this day.

Basant Panchami Snan
This is the fifth day of the luminous half of the lunar month and is the beginning of spring in North India.

Rath Saptami Snan
Rath Saptami festival is observed on the seventh day of Shukla Paksha in the Magh Month (January – February) in the traditional Hindu calendar.

Bhishma Ekadasi Snan
On this day, Bhishma Pithamaha, the oldest, wisest, most powerful and most righteous person belonging to the Kuru dynasty (approx. over 5000 years ago), narrated the greatness of Lord Krishna through Sri Vishnu Sahasranama to Yudhishtira, the oldest brother of Pandavas.

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How to Reach :

AIR
Allahabad is served by the Allahabad Airport (Bamrauli Air Force Base) (IXD) and is linked to Delhi by Air India Regional. Other larger airports in the vicinity are at Varanasi (Varanasi International Airport, 142 km (88 mi)) and Lucknow (Amausi International Airport 200 km (120 mi))


RAIL
Allahabad is well connected by trains with all major cities, viz. Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai.


ROAD
Allahabad, on National Highways 2, 27 and 24 B, is connected to all parts of the country by good roads.
Allahabad is:

433 km from Agra
1207 km from Ahmedabad
167 km from Ayodhya
680 km from Bhopal
799 km from Calcutta
1790 km from Chennai
125 km from Chitrakoot
673 km from Jaipur

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