I travelled to Haridwar in 1998, almost 30 years ago, to report on the Kumbh for a travel assignment, with colleagues and my elder daughter, who was then three.
Haridwar was a small, quiet town with its own sleepy charm and an age-old sacred pedigree.
An event like the Kumbh had not really stretched its limits or overcrowded it, even though some 20,000 sadhus had taken up residence. There were no unmanageable crowds or having to warily jostle your way around.
We spent a couple of days meeting all stripes of sadhus and the local administrators to understand what it takes to organise a Kumbh.
We witnessed too a beautiful and very memorable Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri and in my mind's eye I still remember, warmly, the enormous flotilla of wee boaties made from sal leaves, containing softly-lit diyas, floating gently down the Ganga, as the people lustily sang Om Jai Jagdish Hare, a goosebump moment for even an atheist.
But when the Maha Kumbh began in 2025 in Allahabad I had no plans to attend it. It looked massively big, full of enormous, thick crowds that would take huge courage to navigate.
And although Kumbhs are indeed the most intriguing spectacles of India, unlike the millions who headed there, I had no FOMO, or journalistic curiosity to follow in their footsteps, no matter how unusual the event was going to be.
Any faint FOMO I might have had ended the day dear friend Dr Rajesh M Parikh presented me with his book, coauthored with Namas Bhojani, titled The Power Of Faith: The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.
A neuropsychiatrist of more than 40 years standing at Mumbai's Jaslok Hospital, but more than that a Renaissance man with myriad amazing interests, and above all a warm, wonderful human being, one of Dr Parikh's numerous pursuits is capturing beautiful photographs. And he had put together a powerful picture book on the Kumbh along with Bhojani, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer, who has shot all over the world.
Their pictures take you right to the edge of the eternally flowing Ganga at Allahabad, giving you a ringside seat of this ancient pageant, that is less a mela and more an expression of the exuberant nature of Hinduism, a religion where faith has a million ways of being articulated or nurtured.
Dr Parikh and Bhojani's photographs, in an interesting and almost intimate way, also give you insight into the people of Naya India and what drives them. I looked into the faces of the bathers and visitors of Kumbh 2025 to understand who modern Hindus are and what could have been the draw of the Kumbh and read some answers, I think.
The pictures illustrate too that so inexplicable, completely Indian juxtaposition of old and new, the ancient with the modern, the pracheen's incongruous waltz with the aadhunik...
Also the other enormous Hindustani contrasts -- the unfathomable with the fathomable, scientific with the deeply unscientific, efficiency with chaos, wisdom with illiteracy, the waxing and waning of the kalyug, material poverty versus a vast depth of cultural wealth, explosions of colour against grim black-and-white reality and so on.
The Kumbh spellbindingly and joyously showcases the Riddle That Is India.
Interestingly a major side hero of this Maha Kumbh, quite visible in the two photographers' pics, was the cellphone. We all know how much Indians love their phones as a means to connect with extensive family, watch their saas-bahu-murder-mystery OTTs and, of course, those beloved selfies that Indians die for, literally.
And the real validation of visits to Kumbh came from the selfies shot Ganga kinara and Dr Parikh and Bhojani had many exceptional portraits of those portraits.
Dr Parikh said that all kinds of moments made him raise his camera at the Kumbh, but most important was the sheer volume or river of devotion.
As he told someone, "Looking at the devotion in the eyes of these people. Look at the devotion in the eyes of these pilgrims... the devotion, the faith with which people come, the sadhus, the Naga sadhus who have sacrificed their whole life. I was very touched by all these things.
"It is also a reminder of how big we really are. Our patients make us feel important but when you go into a crowd like this you are just another human being."
In December, Dr Parikh and Bhojani held an exhibition of the photographs from their book at south Mumbai's prestigious Jehangir Art Gallery.
It was a chance to see these very same pics, nearly life-size; their range of animated colours and unique outlines were -- be it the foggy pre-dawn shots, the steely blue winter Ganga, azure skies, grey ash on sadhu chests, pink-red sunsets, the behti nadi of saffron -- mesmerising.
Actor Aamir Khan and writer Shobhaa De inaugurated the exhibition and a bunch of celebrities and doctors attended the inaugural event across two days.
About 25 pictures from the book had been thoughtfully chosen and were up on the wall. Dr Parikh rotated between his guests spending a little time with each.
Now we get to the recipe part of this all-over-the-place narration... But what's life and observations on humankind, unless spiced up with food?
A bunch of yummy snacks were being passed around, like shots of Gulkand Thandai, Rasam and Bhutte Ka Kees, Thecha Bombs, a special variety of handvo. And interesting dessert that seemed to be baby Gulab Jamuns cosying up to their rival baby Rosagullas in a syrupy pudding representing a few states.
I took a great shine to the Bhutte Ke Kees that was more like a kees turned into a shorba. I was served stylishly in tiny glasses and had the unmistakable flavour of ginger and coconut spiked with a tiny bit of pungent chilly.
Here is my take on the recipe, which I tried at home. Enjoy on a cold winter day, with a side of bread! And go online at purchase Dr Rajesh M Parikh and Namas Bhojani's book of photography that is also a kaleidoscopic study of our great India.
Bhutte Ka Kees Shorba
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 8-10 pods garlic, finely chopped
- 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped.
- 10 curry pattas
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp hing or asafoetida
- 1½ tsp salt
- Dash sugar
- 1 green chilly
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- Dash sugar
- ¾ cup or about 200 ml coconut milk
- 3-4 tbsp grated coconut
- Water
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro
- 1 tsp chopped green parsley
- Juice of half a lime
Method
- Keep two handfuls of the corn kernels aside and grind up the rest with the coconut milk and the green chilly.
Keep aside. - In a saucepan or a kadhai, fry the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, curry leaves with the olive oil and the butter, over medium heat, for 5-6 minutes till softened.
Add in the ground corn kernels-coconut milk mixture, salt, pepper, hing and bring to a boil with enough water to have thick soup consistency.
Boil for 5-6 minutes more till corn is cooked.
Add in the sugar, gated coconut.
Take off heat and add in the lime juice, parsley, green dhania. - Serve piping hot with a side of bread or cheese toast or a salad.
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