Adventure of a lifetime: Why these Mumbaikars are visiting Maha Kumbh like never before

Some are fulfilling their parents’ wish, some drawn to the idol-less celebration of a higher power, and some are here for a once-in-a-lifetime experience—the Maha Kumbh is drawing in every kind of Mumbaikar

‘Teaching yoga at Mahakumbh is the highlight for us’

Khyati Shah, yoga instructor, 26
Khyati Shah, a yoga instructor from Vile Parle, found herself at a crossroads when she was faced with a choice between hosting her usual yoga retreat in Lonavala or joining her friends on a trip of a lifetime to the Mahakumbh. Her WhatsApp group of yoga enthusiasts was buzzing with messages and plans being made back-to-back.

Shah couldn’t resist the calling. She cancelled her retreat bookings and booked a flight to Varanasi, from where she would visit Prayagraj. Two of her best friends, who are also into yoga, accompanied her. “We decided to arrive at the festival and teach yoga free of cost to the devotees. The scale of this Mahakumbh is such that we thought it’s the best place to be if you are a yoga enthusiast,” she says.

Sadhus walk during a religious procession of the Niranjani Akhara, in Prayagraj on January 4, 2025. Pic/Getty Images

Setting up their yoga space was difficult at the banks, as the space was packed, so they decided to move towards the cityside tents, where there was a small space that could accommodate about 15 people. “I know it’s not a lot of people, but there is hardly any space to have more folks here. On the first day, it was a mix of people who came to learn the basic moves, which included four foreigners from Italy, the US, Japan, and Indonesia, and about a dozen Indians. The next day, the number of foreigners increased.”

It has almost been a week since Shah and her two friends have been giving yoga lessons to devotees at Kumbh, something they always wanted to do as they believe “yoga is best practised when it is shared.”

“I am glad we took the call to be here. Teaching yoga at the Mahakumbh may be the peak of our yoga experience,” says Shah.

Pilgrims take a selfie picture with a man dressed as Lord Krishna during a religious procession in Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, on January 12, 2025. Pic/Getty Images

One trip, many motives 

Aparna More Yoga instructor, 50
For Aparna More, the Mahakumbh holds multiple reasons for her visit. Apart from being a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the Powai resident aims to deepen her spirituality by meeting the Naga sadhus, bring her nearly 80-year-old mother to the sacred festival, and advance her yoga practice. As a yoga practitioner planning to visit the Mahakumbh later this month, she shares, “I’ll be conducting yoga and meditation sessions there. It’s such a sacred place, and currently even more so... The energy will be very intense, which is one of my main intentions for going.”

‘Want to take a dip at least once’

Vikrant Solanki, data scientist, 27
Vikrant Solanki had spent his entire life in Juhu until Class 12, after which he enrolled in a university in Sonipat. The Juhu boy stepped out of his cocoon for the first time and soon realised that he had a penchant for solo travel. “My college mates would visit Kasol, Manali, and Dehradun. I often travelled with them, but the sense of freedom I discovered after moving out for college was entirely new to me. I started exploring towns and cities on the banks of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Beas,” he explains.

The 27-year-old now works as a data scientist in Mumbai. He adds, “Last year, I visited Agra and Varanasi. This time, my friends, who aren’t really religious, also made plans for Sangam in Allahabad [now Prayagraj]. I didn’t want to tag along with them as their plans didn’t align with mine. I wanted to see India from a closer lens. They wanted a trip that looked aesthetic and mystical for the ‘Gram. I believe social media has ruined that aspect for our generation.”

With the aim of interacting with sadhus and aghoris, who have always fascinated Solanki, he planned to witness three major snaans [baths] at Mahakumbh—the first three that his work schedule would allow him: the Paush Purnima, the Makar Sankranti snaan, and the Mauni Amavasya snaan, all within a fortnight in January. “I decided to take the train instead of a flight from Mumbai. Chugging through the countryside is quite a surreal experience compared to just landing at the airport and arriving at the Sangam site. I could capture some photos from the railway bridge of lakhs of devotees and the tents set up for Mahakumbh,” he says.

While he was overwhelmed at first when he arrived at the Sangam site, Solanki now says that the best part about being at the Mahakumbh is that there is very little VIP culture here, except for the few larger tents set up towards the north of the festival site. “Most of the VIP tents are booked for the seers only, which I think is fair, as they need more space due to the thousands of devotees visiting them,” says Solanki.

The Juhu resident adds, “I couldn’t gather the courage to take a dip in the ice-cold waters of Sangam during the first two snaans, but I am here until January 29. Let’s hope I am able to do that at least once without falling sick.”

‘Haven’t seen this glimmer in mom’s eyes since dad died’

Naveen Hiremath, HR professional, 47
Growing up in Worli, Naveen Kumar Hiremath, an HR professional in a Churchgate-based firm, saw his mother Savitri and father Uday Hiremath always busy in the grind of a working-class life. With his father—an accountant at a construction company—mostly being away for work, Naveen and his homemaker mum rarely got to spend time with him. 

There was always something that got in the way—school, college assignments, and eventually Naveen’s own work responsibilities. The most they could manage for vacations while his father was alive was visiting their village in Amravati, as well as coastal destinations like Ratnagiri and Goa. “We never really left the state except for a couple of times, when we went to Dwarka back when I was in college, and Goa when I was younger,” says Naveen.

As Mahakumbh approached and his neighbours were booking their tickets to the festival, Naveen decided he didn’t want to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His mother, now almost 80 years old, is frail, but her face lit up when he mentioned a trip to Prayagraj and maybe even Kashi. “Initially, we didn’t get tickets to Prayagraj. We had decided on the plan too late, in mid-December. But I knew I would have to put in extra effort to get the train tickets. So, I decided to wait in the Tatkal queue at CSMT for about 10 days, daily, at 10 am. Luckily, my office is in Churchgate, so it wasn’t much of a problem to get to work from there. It was on the 10th day [January 11] that I got two tickets to Prayagraj Chheoki Junction on Mahanagri Express,” he says.

With less than a day to leave, the mother-son duo quickly packed for a week-long trip last Sunday. “Getting a hotel was easier than I thought, given that crores of people are going to Prayagraj. But the rates are nearly triple what they usually are. But it’s fine. I haven’t seen this shimmer in my mother’s eyes since my father passed away. We will also visit Kashi for two days before returning to Mumbai by next Sunday,” says Naveen.

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