At the break of dawn, chants of 'Har Har Gange' reached crescendo as lakhs of devotees, ascetics and religious leaders of various orders congregated at the Sangam in Prayagraj on Tuesday, 15 January, for a ritual dip, marking the beginning of the Ardh 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 49-day-long Kumbh Mela.
For decades devotees have braved the cold weather to take a dip in the icy water at the Kumbh Nagari, which witnesses a huge rush of people from far-away lands. Ever wondered how the Kumbh Mela used to look in previous decades? Here are glimpses from 1927, 1956 and 1963:
1927
This footage on the website British Pathé shows different visuals of people from across the country travelling to the Kumbh Mela. It also has visuals of the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. The description of the video reads, “The great Kumbh fair. Attracts hordes of native devotees from all parts of India to sacred city on the river Ganges.”
1956
Here’s more footage on the website featuring sadhus at the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar taking a dip in the Ganges.
1963
Another compilation of colour footage from 1963 of devotees bathing in the Ganga and travelling to the Kumbh from all across the nation.
About 12 crore people are expected to visit the Kumbh this year till Maha Shivratri on 4 March, 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.
(With inputs from PTI and British Pathé)
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