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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 07, 2018, 07:05 AM IST
While describing the Kumbh Mela, Unesco says that “the event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices, making it extremely rich in knowledge”.
That’s an apt way to describe one of the biggest festivals on earth. It is a social event that also spreads the message of national integration and harmony. That was the message at the Sanskriti Kumbh event held in Mumbai recently, where the focus was to spread cultural awareness of the Kumbh.
The festival is indeed an ideal vehicle to showcase India’s rich and diverse culture. The West looks at Kumbh as an exotic event of saints and sadhus. But Kumbh is inclusive — it welcomes everybody and never discriminates on the basis of caste, creed or religion.
Some 12-13 crore worshippers attend the mela in the true spirit of bonhomie. A festival of this magnitude also gives an outsider a generous glimpse into India’s mind-boggling diversity. The message of Kumbh is very important. It fosters a sense of oneness, and universal brotherhood, the feeling that one is not alone in this world.
However, the Kumbh also gives India a wonderful opportunity to tell the world of its resolve to clean its holy rivers, especially the Ganga and the Yamuna. Rivers, already suffering from long-term industrial and urban pollution, run the risk of being polluted further.
In 2013, the UP Pollution Control Board had reported a spike in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels -- which are used as a measure of the level of organic pollution in the water -- at the main bathing place, known as Sangam. This time CM Yogi Adityanath has promised that there won’t be any dirt or smell at the venue. That is a welcome change, which also packs in the message of Swachh Bharat.
