Kumbh Mela, in India, the World's Biggest Religious Festival and its Modern Makeover

Pilgrimage to sacred places is a very ancient practice found almost universally across the world's religions. The formation of Hindu places of pilgrimage was largely shaped through important rituals that were performed at a specific location.Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage. It occurs four times every twelve years and rotates among four locations in India: Allahabad (Prayag) at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna and mythical Saraswati River, Haridwar along Ganga River, Ujjain along the Kshipra River and Nasik along the Godavari River. So Kumbh Mela is practically held every three years across the four locations. It is attended by millions of people on a single day. It is the largest religious gathering on Earth. The main & common reason for one to attend the holy festival of Kumbh Mela is to take dip in Holy River for taking human out of the circle of life & death (stage known as Moksha). Pilgrims & Sadhus in great number from around the world visit here to liberate themselves. A ritual bath at a predetermined time and place is the major event of this festival. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men/women and the poor, and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardized. The greatest features of this Mela are furious and exotic Naga Sadhus (The Naked ones) covered in ash, matted hairs. They are known as preserver of faith.Ten million Hindu pilgrims led by hundreds of ash-covered, naked holy men streamed into the sacred waters of the river Ganges on April 14, 2010 at the world's biggest religious festival. At the end of the four-month fair (January 14 to April 30, 2010) about 50 million pilgrims have visited the ancient and holy city of Haridwar, India. The Kumbh Mela is no longer just about ash-smeared sadhus, saffron-clad cult-leaders and millions of rural devotees seeking salvation in a holy dip. The event at Haridwar is considered parallel the Commonwealth Games in Delhi as a trendy tourist attraction. With fancy facilities and a list celebrities coming on stealthy visits, the old festival has had a modern makeover. Tour operators had earned big valuable dollars and lift the industry from the 26/11 attacks last year in Mumbai and the economic downturn that followed. The paper includes the background, unique tradition, management and modern makeover and changes of this age-old festival.