A ‘Baba’ meditated in a standing ‘Mudra’ with both legs wrapped around each other under a massive tree across the river Kshipra as a stream of visitors continued to take their holy dips with ‘a myriad wish list during the month-long ‘Simhastha Kumbh’—an undefined and unrestricted religious and spiritual experience. It was the Baba’s way of interfacing with the Kumbh . For the pilgrims, it was a leap of faith that the sacred water would wash away their ‘sins’, ‘sorrows’, attain them peace or perhaps ‘Mokhsa’ or ‘Nirvana’— in the slow moving oxygenated water simmering bright in the reflected coloured lights. The extravaganza formally came to a close on Saturday.
The ‘Ghats’, buildings and structures on the two sides of Kshipra which may have experienced foot-falls of thousands of generations, emerge as witness to the centuries elapsed behind, ensuring in their silence to be there in times ahead.
Fitting ‘the scheme of eternity’ for Ujjain, the ancient city, celebrating the ‘Simhastha’ that coincides with Jupiter’s ascend into the Sun sign leo’s quarter — is the seat of divine ‘Mahakal— the lord of all times— residing in Ram Ghat, ever overlooking Ujjain from the other side of the river.
While one takes a leisurely walk and passes through the sleeping Baba, his face barely noticeable in the dim street light, another smiling ‘Sadhu’, a naked one, breezes past on a motorbike with a pillion rider on the bridge over Kshipra river. All the while an incognito mix of rich and poor, the technocrats, businessmen, bureaucrats, engineers, doctors ,journalists and actors, take their turn to hold their nose and take a quick or a long dip in the Kshipra waters with many an expressions betraying ‘an instant connect and attainment of purpose-may be the peace of mind’.
The barricaded Ujjain Kumbh city is dealing with lakhs of devotees who want to have their date with the once in 12 years event as hordes of police force at different cross-sections and diversions managing the face-less devotees marching on foot to the river bank and the temples dotting around it. Night breaks into another day and a scorching Sun dominates the sky as a group of saffron-clad dwarfs holding each-others hand move in the market streets singing ‘Bhajans’ and begging alms. (Their songs telling some story and reminds one of Kalidas, the famed Sanskrit play write of Ujjain, who penned the love story of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala.)
The city of legendary Vikramaditya, one of the mightiest kings of ancient India who established ‘Vikram Samvat’ — the lunar calendar based on Hindu Samvat—is also experiencing ‘modern kings and king makers’ — the VVIPS stepping out of their cars and soaking in the everlasting religious and spiritual spirit of the Kumbh.
Sirens of the VVIP motorcade only add to the undefined diversity that is represented in ‘Simhastha Kumbh’ as political heavyweights of all hues Pow Vow with the heads of 13 Akharas (wrestling arenas), saints of a range of Hindu sects and other religious or spiritual heads.
There seem to be no full-stops in the Kumbh comlexity. There are rock star looking Sadhus with stylish long well-tied ash-golden tresses (giving impression being streaked) playing with the river water , another set meditating in their camps and yet another bunch of ‘Gurujis’ updating their websites with details of how many VIPs they met during the day- provide ‘Kumbh’ its ancient and modern dimensions and generate international traction.
If there is a ‘Baba’ all aloof in the milling crowd sleeping in standing yogic mudra, there are other ‘Sadhus’ happy taking selfies with ‘important figures’.
For the overtly devote and religious multitude it is a complete surrender to the ‘Kumbh’ ambience and its magnitude. The march of common men, women, senior citizens and children in the vast Kumbh Mela area was without and trappings or comforts. The blazing Sun in Ujjain is not stopping people from visiting different Kumbh pavilions, Akharas, shops, exhibitions and book stalls — many by ‘Gita Publication’— and entertainment centres.
As one chases a programme of a political leader , a boisterous procession of ‘Kinnars’ (transgender) passes by with some holding swords. This is for the first time transgender have participated in any Kumbh in an organised manner.
There is no ‘NO’ to nothing in the Hindu traditions. In the Kala Bhairava Temple in Ujjain, the main offering to the presiding deity is not the usual coconuts or flowers, but bottles of liquor, says a priest nonchalantly and moves on with his daily chores. At the same time ,there is a ‘Baba’ busy in a political meetings while his big-beautiful German shepherd is at peace with himself in a milling crowd of political workes close to Balmiki Ghat.
Unified with the traditions and beliefs of the Indian culture as enshrined in ‘Sanatan Dharm’ (eternal religion), the spontaneous gathering of religious , non-religious, theists or atheists, logical or illogical, ‘Prakritik’ (natural) or ‘Aprakritk (unnatural)— all seem to have merged to be ‘One’ in the unstructured and unlimited entity — the ‘Simhastha fair’.