I don’t know when the desire to see the “Kumbh Mela” entered my travel realm, fuelled by National Geographic images and documentaries; it’s probably always been in the background for years. Hailed as the single largest congregation of humans on the planet for one event, it’s the Holy Grail of Hindu pilgrimages.

The Kumbh Mela (literal meaning of Kumbh being “pot” and Mela mean “fair”) alternates once every three years between Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar. The dates are meticulously calculated based on astrological charts, the different alignment of the Sun, Moon and planet Jupiter determines when the “Kumbh” will take place and at what location. Upon the entrance of Jupiter in Aquarius and the Sun in Aries, Kumbh Festival is held at Haridwar. Jupiter, in the Hindu “shastras” is the planet of spirituality whose blessings unshackle one from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

The background of the congregation is the legend in which the gods and demons fought over a pot of ‘amrit’, the nectar of immortality. In the struggle to keep the effects of this elixir from the demons, Jayant, son of Indra - the “King of Gods” ran with the pot (Kumbh) for 12 days, each heavenly day equivalent to a human year. As he ran a few drops of the nectar fell on eight different locations in heaven and four on earth, which have become the locations of the “Kumbh Mela”.

Haridwar is considered to be one of the pious places in the pilgrim circuit among the Hindus and many Sikhs as well. It is where the Ganges, revered as a mother, leaves the mountains and enters the plains. Haridwar literally translates to “door to the gods” and during the Kumbh this place takes on a whole new paradigm. To bathe in “Har-ki-Pauri” (the place where Lord Vishnu stepped on earth) is atonement for many; the mighty river is said to forgive sins of the past and many consider they have been given a second chance in life, a rebirth of sorts.

It is said in the Mahabharata that bathing in Har-ki-Pauri during the Kumbh breaks the cycle of birth, not only for oneself but also for one's forefathers. Many believe the water of Ganga at the time of Kumbh is charged positively by enhanced electromagnetic radiations from the Sun, Moon and Jupiter. It is not science but faith in the traditions, the written lexis of the vedas and the influence of the holy men that draw the crowds to the Kumbh.

The pilgrims at the Kumbh come mainly for the ritual baths at the various ghats. There is even a “gau ghat” to atone the sins of killing the sacred cow (gau). During the baths, prayers are offered to the Sun. You will see many facing the Sun and offering water with their palms or using a small kumbh (pot). It is said the special shape of the Kumbh itself signifies Vishnu and Brahma, two parts of the trinity in Hinduism. Many at the ghats also bring some of the ashes of their departed relatives to immerse in the Ganges. After the immersion the male members of the family shear off their hair. The ritual is an important procedure connected with special pilgrimages and as well as a standard rite of passage.

Right at the ghats of Har-ki-Pauri are many small temples where the bathers go to offer their prayers and offerings to deities. Many light a small single mud “diya” (a wick lit with oil) with a few flowers, incense in a leaf as the offering into the river. After prayers and ritual baths, the day ends in ghats, with the evening's “aarti”. Aarti is an offering of light from the wicks soaked in purified butter. Large copper stands with hundreds of wicks are swirled in the air in circular motion. Analogous to hundreds of candles brimming at a church altar. Twenty one main “aartis" are lit on the banks; symbolic odes to Ganga accompany the bells, the drums and the sound of hundreds of clapping hands. A controlled fervor ebbs and flows through crowds with “Jai Gange Jai Gange” resonating in the air. The power of music, especially when devotional, is hard to resist. It seemed to me that so much was happening at the same time, hard not to be overwhelmed looking in. It all comes together like a well-scripted action packed movie.

The atmosphere is festive; the city lit at night beckons many to linger in the vibrant markets open from dawn to beyond dusk. The pilgrims and travellers alike weave through the narrow lanes. From religious trinkets to take home to the freshest of sweetmeats, from fabrics to gold, from toys to books – it is a shopper’s and foodie paradise. Walking along the ghats and the lanes of Haridwar you get to meet a mini India: coming from deserts of Kutch in Gujarat of from the shores of West Bengal, the ones you meet there the most wonderful, humble, hospitable and truest of travellers.

During the Kumbh, there are many religious tented camps (Akharas) that are set in the area. There are about twelve lines of traditions (Akharas), each with their own unique connotations, secrets and Vedic practices. This is where you will see the sadhus with the longest of dreadlocks, ash smeared naked ascetics, saffron robed priests, each Akhara unique in their time-honored ways of life. The atmosphere in the camps varies; some are engulfed with the smoke of the Yagya (religious sacrifices) with devotees offering pure ghee to the sacred fire (havan kund).

During the course of the Kumbh Mela many peace conventions and inter faith meetings are also organised. Devotees spend their days apart from the ritual baths and pujas by participating in discourses and volunteering at the camps that organize and give away food and water to the poor and to hundreds of travellers each day.

The Kumbh is not just a fair or fest but confluences of faith of many, so one has to feel it, absorb the energy of the masses and the belief of the “sadhus” and the “householders”. One need not be a “believer” but an open heart and mind will weave an incredible experience. The Kumbh, to me, represented the relation many in India feel to the elements around us; our connection with the rivers, the earth and the fire. It is a festival of insight, asceticism and dedication at many levels. It is a reflection of India, maybe even of the world. It showcases our constant need for salvation and peace, the need to seek deep within our folds to understand our mortality. “To see is to believe”, so I say experience this at least once in your lifetime!