NEW: River of Faith, a new documentary film about the Kumbh Mela 2013 by Namit Arora (56 minutes).
Last week I attended the greatest of the Hindu pilgrimage festivals, the Kumbh Mela, a riverside religious fair that takes place at the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. Bathing in the river during the Kumbh Mela is considered a meritorious act, cleansing body and soul, and it attracts tens of millions over 6-8 weeks, making it the largest gathering of humans on the planet for a single event. A hundred million might attend the 2013 event that opened on Jan 14 with about ten million in attendance, including me and Usha. Click on any photo below to see a lot more of my photos (with captions) from the Mela's opening days. Next month, I also intend to put out a travel essay and a video documentary on the Kumbh Mela, including many interesting interviews with naga sadhus.
And you should be proud of the final film. A brilliant and very balanced treatment and I am sure it was exhausting but fun to film. Well done. Having been there myself on previous Kumbhs it brought the reality and the atmosphere back to me. Mike Yorke
Posted by: Mike Yorke | March 14, 2013 at 04:54 AM