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Sangam attracts young and old

The holiest of holy confluence at the Triveni Sangam - where the Ganga,Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati meet - witnessed a major convergence of men, women and children on the opening day of the six-week Kumbh Mela.

Besides devotees from different corners of the country, those from different corners of the globe headed for the most sought after bathing spot. Special significance is attached to this place where a dip, particularly during this special occasion, is regarded as the best means to not only washing away one's sins but also as a gateway to salvation.

All roads from each of the three railway stations and the four new bus stations seemed to be leading to the bathing ghats along the Sangam.

Be it the scantily clad long-bearded, long-haired sadhus, or men in briefs or women wrapped up in saris or naked children, none seemed to miss the opportunity to take a dip or splash in the long-barricaded enclosure on the banks of the holy confluence.

While bathing began at about 1.20 am, the real flow of people shot up after sunrise, when people turned out in much larger numbers. Yet, at the end of the day, the number was far below the expected turn-out of 50 lakh people. "An estimated 25 lakh persons have bathed at the sangam," divisional commissioner Sada Kant told mediapersons.

Kant denied that the low turnout was attributable to the country-wide militant threat . "We believe in catering to a much larger number what we actually expect; therefore when we said we were expecting 50 lakh persons what we meant was that we were keeping ourselves prepared for that kind of crowd," he pointed out.

He parried a direct query, whether the actual arrivals on the remaining five auspicious days would remain the same. The mela administration has been projecting a total turn-out of seven crores over the 42-day mela period. Of this, one crore was estimated on January 14 , three crores on January 24, 1.5 crore on January 29, 25 lakhs on February 8 and about 50 lakhs on February 21.

Weird sights were visible at the bathing ghats. If on one hand there was a 96-year-old Kaila Devi from Madhya Pradesh taking a dip with her great-granddaughter at what she described as her last 'Kumbh', there was a stunning experience for thousands to find a foreigner stripping completely at the dangam.

The 24-year-old Mexican woman sent shockwaves as she bathed in the nude. She was, however, promptly picked up by alert women cops, who covered her with a blanket and took her away in an official vehicle.

Senior superintendent of police Alok Sharma said she had not been taken into custody. "We just had her sent off to where ever she was putting up," Sharma said.

Perhaps it was due to the low turn-out that the bathing went off peacefully. However, officials claimed it to be the result of their "good management". Said mela officer Jeevesh Nandan, "There was no crowding this time essentially because we left a large circulating area of nearly 200 acres en route to the sangam," he told rediff.com, adding, "now you can see this whole area forms a 300-feet wide passage to the sangam, while an independent return route was even wider."

He said, "Tuesday was like a drill for us; and we have passed the test; now, we are even more confident of handling bigger crowds on subsequent dates, when every thing has been timed." According to him, "The estimated 10-minute slot was kept for a person to take a dip and get ready; and this large area will once again help us to provide this required cushion between two batches of people."

Even though Wednesday is not among key bathing dates, the lunar eclipse was likely to draw a sizeable crowd, officials said.

The shahi snan [royal bath] in which some 20,000 sadhus belonging to prominent Hindu congregations will take place on January 14, 24 and 29, when the sangam will be reserved for them, while ordinary pilgrims would have to be content with a dip along the six-km stretch of the Ganga banks, starting from the confluence.

KUMBH MELA DIARY
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