Kumbh Mela - The Price Of Optimism

As the day of the last shahi snan (royal bath) of the Haridwar Mahakumbh Mela approaches on April 27, the crowds in Haridwar have thinned quite dramatically.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Following the surge in Covid-19 cases, several akhadas (congregations) of seers have departed the festival grounds. For instance, of the 13 Bairagi akhadas—for whom the last shahi snan day is considered most significant—only six remain on site.

By April 18, about 80 seers at various ashrams had tested positive for Covid-19. On April 14, Swami Kapil Dev, the mahamandaleshwar of Madhya Pradesh’s Maha Nirvani Akhada, succumbed to Covid-19. Mahant Narendra Giri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh. VHP working president Alok Kumar has also tested positive. Between the Maha Shivratri snan on March 11 and April 20, 8,251 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Haridwar.